Kick's On The Road
by Massieluver1
Summary: Its the adventure of a lifetime! Kick and Kendall are hitting the road with all of their friends. What happens when an unexpected passenger stows away? And what will happen when they take a few little detours? Will they ever reach their destination? Buckle up because it's gonna be a long drive.
1. Kick The Road

Kick's On The Road

**Avery: No I do not own this show and no I have not given up on my other stories. So why am I writing a story about road trip across America you may ask? Well you can blame it on my love of adventure, my interest in other places, and Morgan Matson for writing "Amy and Roger's Epic Detour." So without further ado here is the first chapter of my story.**

I was standing on the front porch of my house when I heard the wheels of the large red Dodge Caravan crunch the gravel as it pulled into the driveway. I dreaded seeing the face of the person who was about to park the rental car and step out, because the moment I did this would all become a reality. I didn't want to take this trip but in the end I had no choice. My mom had already planned out the route, starting here in Mellowbrook, Massachusetts then on to New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and finally our destination, Seattle, Washington. My sister, Ember, was going to university in Seattle, with Brad Buttowski. I know Brad Buttowski got into a university, it was a big shock to all of us too. So now I was being forced to drive across the country with my childhood enemy, Kick Buttowski, to help our siblings pack up and drive home. You would think that after seventeen years of hating each other we could have learned to get along. But no, we are still at each other's throats, just like we had always been. The sound of a car door slamming closed caused me to wake up from my thoughts, and there he stood. He had gotten much taller and much more muscular since we were thirteen, but he still wore his trademark jumpsuit and helmet. His icy blue eyes locked with my brown ones and we stayed that way for a moment, as if we were waiting for the other person to say something.

"Hey" He said bluntly

"Hi" I replied, trying to smile

"So" He said, trying to fill the awkwardness in the air "You ready for tomorrow?"

To be honest, I wasn't. I had put off packing to the very last second just in case Ember changed her mind and flew home and got her stuff delivered via FedEx or something like that. But she hadn't, which meant that me and Kick were still taking this trip, starting bright and early tomorrow morning, which meant I would be spending all night packing. But for now we were just going to Cracker Barrel for lunch with some of our friends, talking to my friends would probably distract me from thinking about the trip. We have not really talked about this trip at all, we didn't know who would do most of the driving and navigating, who would pay for hotel rooms and food, or anything like that. I guess we would have to cross a bridge like that when it came.

"I guess" I replied as I opened the door to the passenger's seat

The short car ride to the nearby Cracker Barrel felt awkward, we were not talking or even acknowledging one another. If this is us alone in a car for eight minutes how are we going to survive eight days alone in a car? I pushed all thoughts to the back of my mind as we pulled into the parking lot. When we got inside we saw Gunther, Moxie, Ronaldo, Christina, Mouth, and Fiona already sitting around a long table, Moxie waved us over immediately. We sat down at opposite ends of the table and immersed ourselves in conversations with friends. Then Christina popped the question that had been on my mind all day.

"You two ready for tomorrow?" She asked, her always cheerful smile crossing her pink cupid's bow shaped lips

I looked down the table towards Kick, he looked up at me abruptly and our gaze met for a moment. I looked down at the remains of my lunch and, out of the corner of my eye, watched Kick slurp down the last of his sweet tea. I thought hard about my reply, and how there wasn't really a right or wrong answer but every answer still felt wrong.

"I'm not sure" I finally stated

"Well I know that if I were you I'd be excited times ten" Fiona said, Fiona had never been out of Mellowbrook once in her life. When she was in foster care as a little kid she would dream of the world outside of her foster home, and how she would one day see it.

"Well, I wish I could go" Moxie said "I've actually lived in some of the places your going, it would be nice to see my old home"

"And I wish I could go to Indianapolis, to see the world's biggest microscope" Ronaldo said

"Yeah, leave it to you to see the lamest things on the highway" Mouth said "I wish I could back to Yosemite, remember our first cross country road trip Christina?"

Christina looked at her twin, and then she cringed, as if she were remembering a bad childhood experience "I remember you and Pantsy getting car sick the entire drive and puking on me"

"Well I want to see the big apple" Gunther announced

"Well, New York City is a great-" I started to say before Gunther interrupted me

"No, I meant the actual big apple" Gunther said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "it's a monument in Iowa"

"Wow, look at this Kendall" Kick said, a sly grin crossing his face. Oh, crud no, he was getting an idea, and even though I couldn't read his mind I feared that I knew what he was going to say next. "We have six friends who wanna see America, and a huge car with ten seats"

"Is he saying what I think he's saying?" Fiona asked in excitement

"Would you guys like to discover America?" Kick asked everyone at our table

"We're about four hundred years to late for that" I reminded him, but no one listened to my comment. They were all to busy wearing excited grins and exchanging thrilled looks.

"As long as I'm not sitting next to my brother" Christina said, giving Mouth a side glare "I'm in"

"Me too" Gunther yelled in excitement

"I'm in" Fiona and Moxie exclaimed loudly in unison

"Count me in too" Ronaldo said

"Well, if my friends are in I'm in" Mouth said

I wasn't sure weather I should have been happy or sad. On one hand I could avoid a long awkward road trip alone with Kick, and on the other hand I was now carrying eight people in one car. My road trip budget was already tight as is, how was I supposed to help pay for hotel rooms for eight people? And what about meals? Surely we'd want some souvenirs too. I weighed my options for a moment before looking up and the fourteen eyes staring back at me, as if they were waiting for my approval. I sighed.

"Alright fine" I said, this was followed by a wave of cheering and high fives "But you all have to be packed up and ready and meet at my house tomorrow at ten am, and bring money because I am not paying for your meals and souvenirs"

All of my friends were thrilled, and then they insisted that we look around the Cracker Barrel shop for candy, or as they liked to call it "Road trip food."

"Kendall, aren't you gonna get something?" Fiona asked me in the checkout line, holding her package of gummy shark candy

I didn't feel like buying anything, so instead I grabbed a complimentary map and headed towards the car. This was going to be a very long road trip.

**Avery: Okay, I don't know if Mellowbrook is actually in Massachusetts, so lets just pretend its right next to Boston. Yeah, I know nothing about Massachusetts… But I also know nothing about most of the states they are visiting. So please if you live in the states tell me some interesting facts about your state, thank you. Avery out, peace!**


	2. Wish You Weren't Here

Wish You Weren't Here

**Avery: Hello, we are about to hit the highway with Kick, Kendall, and their friends, and a mystery guest. By the way if you see this ()()()it means there is a skip in time or a play list. Enjoy!**

The next day Moxie rang my doorbell at seven in the morning, I knew it was her before I even opened the door because I could hear the music she was playing on her iPod through the door. When I opened the door she was there, clutching the handle of her red suitcase that matched the vibrant red hair dye on the tips of her curly raven locks. Her electric guitar case was slung like a backpack over her left shoulder, she looked like she was a rock star ready to go on tour. Even her clothes fit her rock star attitude, lace leggings underneath her acid washed short shorts, her V neck shirt was a bright pink-ish red colour and fitted to her body. Stuff I would never even think of putting on my body.

"Moxie, we're not leaving for three hours" I whined, still half asleep "What are you doing here so early?"

"I'm always early, plus I figured you might need help loading everything into the car" Moxie replied "I brought play lists"

She waved her iPod touch at me, it was so old that the screen was cracked and the stick on cover was peeling off. She wore a large grin that almost stretched to her light violet eyes, lined with eyeliner and mascara.

"Alright" I finally said

"Yay" She exclaimed

"But your in charge of snacks" I told her

"Aw" She sighed in disapointment "I still get to be in charge of tunes right?"

I looked at her face, sort of a puppy dog pout. I expected Kick to be our road trip Dj but I guess they could take turns.

"Yes, you can have your tunes" I told her

()()()

Moxie's Play list #1

"The Journey Has Begun" or "Hit The Road"

Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf

Summer Of 69 by Bryan Adams

Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

Viva La Vida by Coldplay

You Cant Always Get What You Want by The Rolling Stones

Life Is A Highway by Tom Cochrane

Route 66 by Nat King Cole

Highway To Hell by AC/DC

Kashmir by Led Zeppelin

Don't Stop Believing by Journey

Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones

King Of The Highway by Norton Buffalo

Watching The Wheels by John Lennon

Headlights On Dark Roads by Snow Patrol

Main street 1979 by Deric Ruttan

Moxie's side notes: About to leave Massachusetts, interesting fact the state beverage is Cranberry juice, I'd like to try that the next time I have our famous Boston Cream Pie.

Yum :)

()()()

By the time ten o'clock had rolled around everyone else had arrived at my house, all lined up with their suitcases, bags of electronics, games, movies, drinks, and snacks, lots and lots of snacks. It took us twenty minutes to load all of our stuff into the car but soon enough we were on the road towards Concord, New Hampshire, the time was passed playing a game of twenty questions.

"Is it a person?" Fiona asked, looking up from her copy of Divergent

"Yes, eighteen" Mouth replied

"Is it a boy?" Gunther asked

"Yes" Mouth replied "Seventeen"

"Is he famous?" I asked

"Very" Mouth stated "That's sixteen"

"Does anyone else hear that?" Christina asked from the back seat

"Hear what?" Kick asked from the driver's seat

"You know that counts" Mouth told us "Fourteen"

"Can you give us a hint?" Ronaldo asked

"Fine, I have something in common with him" Mouth replied "Thirteen"

"I just feel like someone's breathing on my neck" Christina said "And I don't think that trunks can breath"

"It's probably in your head," I told her "when your in a small space, like a car, for a certain amount of time you will feel that way"

"Yeah, its probably just me" Christina said, but I could tell by her face that she was still unsure.

"Is he alive?" I asked Mouth

"Nope, twelve" Mouth replied

()()()

"Christopher Columbus? Really?" I asked after we had lost our game

"Yup, I told you we had something in common" Mouth replied

"Indeed you do, Christopher" Christina said

()()()

After six hours of driving and nine games of I spy we finally arrived in Concord, New Hampshire. We were all in dire need of food, a stretch, and a rest. Kick pulled off the highway on the first exit we came across. Concord was such a lovely little town, the buildings looked old and rustic, trees lined all the roads, and the people walking around smiled as if there were no strangers in the world. Kick pulled into a diner parking lot and we all filed out of the car and towards the diner when Moxie turned around.

"Wait" She said "My wallet is in the trunk of the car, I'll meet you guys inside"

Moxie walked back to the car and we continued to walk towards the door, we didn't turn around until we heard Moxie let out a loud, high pitched, scream.

"What happened?" Gunther yelled as we all ran towards her

We stared into the trunk and gasped. How could this have happened without me even noticing? I should have listened to Christina when she was talking about something in the trunk because there was something, someone actually. Her piercing green eyes stared right at me and all I could think was how? How did this even happen? I never saw her sneak in and she didn't make a sound the entire drive. She quickly sat up and stepped out of the trunk of the car, and looked strait at me.

"Hello Kendall" She said, as if my name were a curse

I didn't know what to say, so I took a deep breath and said

"Hello to you too, Jackie"

**Avery: Okay, I just had to put in Jackie, cuz with her here you know that this is going to be interesting. Oh and guess what today's date is? it's the ninth of October that means I've been in KB fandom for a year and I actually joined on my birthday so today I am a full year older. But that's not important, what's important is the amazing writers and readers here on KB fandom that I have befriended over the last year, you know who you are, and I just want to say thank you guys you are so supportive and nice :) Avery out!**


	3. Crossroad Puzzles

Crossroad Puzzles

**Avery: Well I don't really have anything to say so, I guess I'll just take this as an opportunity to thank you for reviewing. Enjoy the next chapter.**

"What are _you_ doing here?" Moxie asked, but it sounded more like a demand then a question

"Following my future husband on a journey across America" Jackie replied, as if that were the most normal sentence in the world

I had a feeling that Kick expected this from Jackie, seeing as she was constantly stalking him, he was probably used to her creepiness by now. Then I noticed something, my suitcase was not in the car. If my suitcase was not in the car then where was it?

"Jackie" I said sternly "Do you know what happened to my suitcase?"

Jackie looked like she had just seen a ghost, and I mentally face palmed myself

"Um, it's in your garage" Jackie said guiltily "I needed some more room"

"That suitcase had all my clothes in it" I yelled in rage "what am I supposed to wear?"

I stepped forward in rage, Fiona and Ronaldo grabbed my arms and pulled me back. Oh Jackie you are so lucky Fiona and Ronaldo held me back or I would have played patty cake with your face. I didn't have any clothes, although since I didn't see a new suitcase I guessed that Jackie didn't have any clothes either.

"You could borrow my clothes" Moxie told me

I thought about this for a moment, I couldn't just wear the same clothes for eight days straight, that's just gross. Moxie might be my only clothing option unless I spent all the trip money on a new wardrobe, which would have been a poor choice. We were the same height and weight so her clothes would fit me perfectly, but her style just, isn't me. Short shorts, low-cut tops, vibrant colours, bright patterns, on her it looks great. I can't wear clothes like that without feeling self-conscious. I could never fit into Fiona or Christina's skinny little outfits that I couldn't breathe in. I looked at Moxie, who knew very well that I would never think of putting her clothes on my body, but my choice was wear Moxie's clothes or smell like a homeless person. I picked her clothes.

"Alright" I replied

Now to move on to the bigger problem, Jackie. What were we going to do with her? She couldn't just drive all the way to Seattle and back with us, could she?

"Is there anything we can say to make you get on the next train back to Mellowbrook?" Mouth said rudely, earning a hard elbow in the chest courtesy of his sister

"Oh, I'm not going home" Jackie sighed dreamily "My mom thinks that I'm in Youngstown, New York with my aunt Jennifer"

I think Jackie's mom knows that Jackie is a psycho path but refuses to believe it, or she doesn't have enough money to hire a therapist. Either way if Jackie's mom had done something to make her daughter just a smidge less insane then she probably wouldn't be following Kick around like a loud and insane lost puppy. But what were we supposed to do about her now? We decided that we'd discuss the problem over lunch. The diner was nice, old-looking and fifties style, there were many posters of singers like Elvis Presley, a lit up jukebox in the corner loudly blaring "Johnny B. Goode", and a clock shaped like a black acoustic guitar hung on the wall. The waitresses wore big puffy poodle skirts and white blouses, adding to the diner's theme of living in the early 1950's.

"So what are we going to do about you Jacklyn?" Moxie spat out her full name like it was a curse

"Well Mariana" Jackie spat back, sour venom stinging her voice "I suggest you let me stay and drive all the way to Seattle"

"Not happening" I said before I could stop myself

Everyone looked at me and didn't say anything for a moment. I looked at Ronaldo for a moment and I knew, before he even opened his mouth, what he was about to say.

"But we can't just leave her here Kendall, how would she get home?" Ronaldo asked "She doesn't have enough money for a train ticket and hitchhiking is dangerous"

I knew he was right, he always was. But he knew I wasn't going to put up with Jackie for the next three thousand miles. He knew me better than anyone, but I think it was because of the fact we broke up that he knew so much about me. I guess some people are just better off as friends.

"Jackie is there any way that we can drive you to New York?" I asked, slightly annoyed

"You can but I'm not staying" Jackie replied

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I should have known that Jackie would never leave us alone, but a small part of me wondered what would drive her to go to New York and stay? Suddenly I had an idea.

"Jackie when was the last time you saw your aunt?" I asked

Jackie paused for a moment, she looked as though she was trying to rack her brain for an answer. Jackie opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Suddenly a small tear formed in her eye and she quickly wiped it away, pretending it was never there.

"My cousin's funeral, about eight years ago" Jackie explained "Rachael was her only daughter and my only female cousin, I haven't spoken to Aunt Jennifer or my cousin Ralph in years"

"If you don't mind me asking what happened to her?" Fiona asked sympathetically

"She was tied up and beaten to death by a group of girls shortly after she came out of the closet" Jackie explained, hot tears slowly formed in her eyes "She was fourteen"

I was shocked by what I was hearing, Jackie had experienced a terrible loss at a young age all because of some idiots who refused to accept a girl's homosexuality. Seeing Jackie like this, actually learning something about her, made me feel like she was almost normal. It was like she was not the Jackie Wackerman who spent the last seven years stalking Kick like a bloodhound, but the Jackie inside, the Jackie I had never seen. As she wiped a tear from her eye I glanced at Kick, who was looking at Jackie with sympathy, I suddenly felt envious of the way he was looking at her. I almost felt the urge to remind him that this was the girl who watched him sleep every night for seven years.

"Do you want to see your aunt and cousin?" Mouth asked

"Yes, I want too" Jackie replied, nodding her head quickly

"Then it's settled" Kick said "We're going to Youngstown, New York"

Everyone was smiling, except for me. Honestly I felt sorry for Jackie but I was a bit jealous that Kick was paying so much attention to her, it's the eighth grade class president election all over again. We got our bill and the waitress gave us complementary crossword puzzles that were entitled "Crossroad Puzzles" I guess they were out of mints.

()()()

"I think number nine across is eradication" Ronaldo said, looking at the crossword puzzle in Fiona's lap

"You think?" She asked

He smiled and nodded "An eleven letter word for elimination"

"Elimination is already eleven letters" Kick pointed out

"I didn't know you could count" I joked, he threw me a stern look before putting his eyes back on the highway

"Ronaldo is right" Fiona said after she filled in the blank "Number ten down, twelve letters, meaning freedom"

There was a long moment of silence, the only noise was the radio, playing Moxie's play list on low volume. I began to think of words that meant freedom. Liberty? Salvation? Too short. Determination? Sovereignty? Nonconformity? Three years of Mrs. Collins, the strictest teacher in school, and her equally hard English classes and I can't even figure out a simple crossword puzzle. So many words that meant freedom, and I only needed one. Kick mumbled something, I almost didn't catch what he said, all I heard was "the fourth." The fourth? As in of July? Independence day? But what did that- Wait. I-N-D-E-P-E-N-D-E-N-C-E. Twelve letters, meaning freedom.

"Your right" I whispered to him

He looked at me, confused, then smiled "Independence" he said before turning his eyes back to the highway.

Fiona looked at him, then wrote down the word in the blank space. She smiled.

"It's right" She said triumphantly

()()()

We pulled off the highway around dinner time and got two rooms at the first motel we came across, one room for the boys and one room for the girls. We dropped off our suitcases and walked around Concord, looking for a restaurant.

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't figure it out" Kick whispered to me

"I'm kind of surprised you did" I told him, because honestly, I was.

He gave me a little smile, one that I haven't seen since we were kids. One that made me melt every time. Wait, what am I saying? I'm not dating Ronaldo anymore so it wouldn't be wrong to say I think another boy's smile is nice, so then why does it feel so wrong? But it also feels right at the same time. I know this might be confusing, but that's what these feelings are, confusing. I wonder what he's thinking, probably about his stunts, and not about me. His mom told him he couldn't bring his bike or skateboard on this trip, but if I know Kick he probably smuggled something.

"How did you figure it out?" I asked him

Kick smiled "I thought of you"

"Me?" I asked in confusion, while trying to stop the blood from rushing to my cheeks

"Yeah," Kick replied "You have a lot of independence"

"Not really" I told him

"You are, you just need to find it" He said with a reassuring smile

"Hey lovebirds, hurry up!" Moxie screamed from ahead of us.

I hadn't even noticed that we had fallen behind. We ran to catch up, our friends laughing at us.

"What were you talking about?" I heard Gunther ask Kick

Kick smiled and replied "Independence"

()()()

Moxie's Play list #2

"I wanna be forever Youngstown" or "Busting out of Independence" or "Gunther ate all of the travel snacks -_-"

Runnin Down A Dream by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

Take It Easy by Eagles

Road Trippin' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Beautiful Day by U2

Paradise City by Guns N' Roses

Drive My Car by The Beatles

Hit The Road Jack by Ray Charles

Highway To Hell by AC/DC

Back Against the Wall by Cage The Elephant

Last Goodbye by Jeff Buckley

Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship

21 Guns by Green Day

Independence by The Band Perry

Moxie's side notes: So many places have New in their name, I will legitimately give twenty dollars to whoever can name them all

Fiona's side notes: New Zealand, New Holland, New South Wales, New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Newtown, Newcastle, New Britain, New Plymouth, New England, New Mexico, New Orleans, Newport News, Newport, New Bern, New Bedford, New Norcia, Newark, New Athens, New Sweden, New Oxford, New Westminster, New London! YOU OWE ME TWENTY DOLLARS!

Moxie's side notes:…-_-

**Avery: Okay, I don't know if some of those "new-" places actually exist cuz I got those off of a Q&A website when I should have probably looked in an atlas but I can't find one -_- Also I'm probably going to add new POV's and have other characters make play lists, because everyone's musical style is different. That's all for now, Avery out!**


	4. Captivating

Captivating

**Avery: I'm using a different POV for this chapter so I'm taking the spotlight off of Kick and Kendall for a moment but worry not my friends they will be the center of attention again soon. Enjoy!**

-Christina-

I have not slept a wink all night. I stared at the clock watching time slowly tick by. Eleven, Twelve, One, Two… By four am I gave up trying to sleep entirely. I considered going into the boys room to wake up my brother but I knew he wouldn't be happy that I woke him up at four in the morning. I've always been like this, an insomniac. No one really knows that I'm an insomniac, except for Ronaldo. I can count on one hand the number of times I have not called him at four in the morning with my sleeping issues, I wouldn't be surprised if he were hovering over his phone right now, waiting for me to call. My phone buzzed and a text appeared on the screen, it was from Ronaldo.

"_Meet me outside"_

I smiled, he was so predictable. He has been my best friend for years, I'm a closet science geek, he is very open about it. It almost made me want to come out of the geek closet and accept that I was a geek. He made me want it, but the fact that he was dating Kendall held me back. But even now, four years after they dated and broke up, I couldn't come to terms with who I really was and how I really felt. He has always been there, always wanted to help me. So many people think of him as a egghead and a geek but I see him as much more then that. I saw him as a best friend, and so much more. I was thirteen and studying for a history test the night I realized I was in love with Ronaldo. We were in his room, notebooks, question sheets, texts books, and binders sprawled out across his bed. I tucked my pencil behind my ear along with my recently cut brunette locks and slammed my textbook shut.

"Well I'm stumped" I exclaimed, rolling back my icy blue eyes and collapsing face first onto his navy blue duvet.

"If only they had science back in the fifteenth century" Ronaldo said, laying down on his stomach, his face inches away from mine.

"Does everything have to be about science to you?" I mumbled into the bed without looking up at him

"Science is used for good" Ronaldo replied

"Science was also used to blow up Japan after the Holocaust" I reminded him "That not only killed thousands of people but also gave millions cancer. Don't you remember the story of Sadako Saski?"

I knew without even looking at him that his head was down, and I smirked, knowing I was right. We had heard the story many times, she was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. It wasn't until a few years later that Leukemia set in, or as her mom liked to call it the "Atomic Disease." She was hospitalized and was given a year at the most to live, so she started folding paper cranes, believing that if she folded one thousand paper cranes a wish would be granted. She then died at the age of twelve.

"You know I would never kill anyone with science" Ronaldo told me "Einstein won a noble peace prize, that's what I want"

I looked up slightly, my eyes meeting his. His eyes were so interesting, a light green colour mixed with grey, I wanted those eyes. They were the kind of eyes that made you stop and stare, and sure one or two ladies at makeup counters have told me I have amazing eyes but his eyes were different. They held the stars, the sky, the world, Infinity. And before I can stop myself I reached out and touched his face, tracing an infinity around his eyes, he smiled at me slightly and I smiled back. That was the moment I realized I had been so stupid, I actually believed all those years of our friendship that I thought he was nothing more then my best friend. I held on to that moment, looking into his eyes, my finger tracing his jaw line. If I had just moved two measly little inches we would kissing, but we couldn't, he was dating Kendall, who was my friend. I couldn't do this, not to a friend. I almost couldn't help it, his smile, his eyes, his voice, his hair, and every little detail in between. It was all so captivating. He was captivating.

And then, here I am, five years later a seventeen year old girl slipping on her favourite pair of moccasin slippers to sneak out to meet her friend, still wearing her plaid pajama bottoms and oversized "Big Bang Theory" top. It was Ronaldo's shirt but every time I stayed at his house watching "The Big Bang Theory" I would beg him to let me wear it. So one day, when it was my birthday, he gave me the shirt. It was in a large blue bag filled with purple tissue paper. It smelled like axe and the lavender air freshener that his mom loved so much, but it also smelled like him. It reminded me of all the Big Bang Theory marathons that we had when we were younger, every time we joked that he sounded like Howard Wolowitz, every time we role played as Sheldon and Penny, and all of the laughs that were yet to come, whether they came out of Sheldon's mouth or his. But I didn't want him to be Sheldon anymore. Not Sheldon, Penny's friend, I wanted him to be Leonard, Penny's lover. I wanted him. The Leonard to my Penny.

"Knock, knock, knock, Penny! Knock, knock, knock, Penny! Knock, knock, knock, Penny!" He exclaimed as I approached, he too was in slippers and pajamas. "Nice shirt"

We both smirked And just like that the feeling of love is back. And in that moment, I want to kiss him, I want to hold him, I want to love him, I want him. I couldn't do that though, he thought of me as a friend and only a friend. Four years ago I felt heartbreak for the first time, when he and Kendall started dating, and for the second time when he told me he got his first kiss. I wanted to cry but instead I let my anger out through a paintbrush. I painted a lot, even after Ronaldo and Kendall broke up I painted. It was my way of saying "I'll always be here, and I'll always love you."

"You couldn't sleep either?" I asked

"Sort of," He replied with a laugh "I think our all-nighters have put my body on a timer"

I smirked at him, and then we start walking, past the pool and basket ball court, and onto the open grass field behind the hotel where I saw kids playing Frisbee earlier today. He sat down on the grass and patted the ground next to him, offering me a seat. His smile was warm and inviting as I sat down beside him and looked up at the sky. The sky was a deep purple and the sun would be up soon, but for now I was enjoying the slowly fading stars.

"There's Taurus" I said, pointing up at the constellation

"What?" He asked

"Your zodiac, you were born April 28, and therefore you are a Taurus" I explained

"Oh right" Ronaldo said "And you were born September 25, that makes you-"

He stopped talking. I knew that it was because he knew nothing about astrology, he also didn't believe that your entire life has something to do with the position of the stars on your birthday. I didn't believe in horoscopes and zodiacs either, it takes away from my catholic beliefs. Ronaldo believed in science, I believed that the fact that it was all so intricate and perfect meant that God really did exist. He was saying "here is the world I am giving you, enjoy it" but Ronaldo disagreed. I was fine with that, it's not like I was trying to shove my beliefs down his throat and it wasn't like he hated me for believing in a higher power. Opposites attract, and I love him the way he is.

Then suddenly I felt something warm on my hand, I looked down and I realized it was his hand. He hasn't held my hand since we were six and we got lost at the local amusement park. I looked up at him and my eyes rested on his for a moment. And then, before I can stop myself, I'm leaning in…

-Moxie-

"Where the hell is she!?" I yelled at the top of my lungs

All I know is that I woke up and Christina was not in bed. I screamed her name, waking up the other girls in the process, she wasn't even in the room. She didn't leave a note, or a text, or told anyone she was going anywhere. At first Fiona suggested that she was in the boys room with her brother, but when we called them they said that she wasn't there. And the strangest thing, neither was Ronaldo. Then we put two and two together. That is when our search began.

"I am going to murder him!" Mouth screamed "What does he think he is doing with my sister?"

Mouth sat down in the closest seat with his head in his hands, Fiona touched his arm but he waved her off.

"It's probably nothing bad" I reminded him

"Yeah" Gunther agreed "Maybe they went for an early breakfast or a morning swim"

Mouth jerked his head up with fire in his eyes.

"Are you saying he saw her in a bikini?!" Mouth yelled

He looked enraged, almost murderous. Oh Ronaldo how I would hate to be in your boots right now. I always knew that Christina liked Ronaldo, even if she never admitted it. I have a useless superpower, I can tell when two people are perfect for each other, sometimes just by looking at someone. I knew why Christina had never admitted to her crush, it was all because of Kendall. Even years after the break up, Christina needed to learn how to come to terms with how she feels, and learn that sometimes you have to take chances. Love was a lot like life, if you don't take a chance nothing will ever change.

"Uhh" I heard Jackie mumble

"If he hurts her I'll tear his oversized brain out!" Mouth screamed

"Then you might not want to look over there" Jackie whispered

I turned my head to where she was looking and I saw Christina and Ronaldo, kissing. I knew it. I knew Mouth had seen it too, his eyes widened to the size of plates, his mouth dropped open.

"I'm going to kill you" He screamed

Mouth ran forward as Kendall and I held him back. Christina and Ronaldo's kiss was broken and the were staring at us like we were aliens. Christina jumped up and ran towards her brother, leaving Ronaldo sitting in the field alone. Mouth looked at his sister, there was fear in her eyes. She knew that he was going to yell at her.

"What the hell did you do?" He yelled

"It was just a kiss" She replied calmly

"Just a kiss that can turn into a make out, and you know what happens after a make out" Mouth scolded

"Mouth anger wont solve anything" Kendall calmly told him "Just relax"

I could tell that Kendall was trying to be the peacekeeper in this situation. She usually wasn't the person who attempted to keep the peace, usually she stayed out of it. I looked over my shoulder and realized that Kick was the one staying out of it. He was mindlessly poking at the ground with the toe of his shoe, he was usually the peacekeeper. I stepped towards him.

"Are you going to help?" I asked him

He shook his head "I think I'll let Kendall have this one"

()()()

I sat in the back next to Mouth, who had his headphones in his ears, refusing to talk to anyone. Christina and Ronaldo sat on opposite ends of the car, which were specific orders from Mouth. They awkwardly exchanged longing glances at each other the entire car ride. It almost made me sad, to see my friends have their love lives and I didn't have one myself, even if I did want one. I looked over at Gunther, who was sleeping like a baby in the seat next to me, and I couldn't help but notice how he had changed over the years. I lived in Mellowbrook three times, when I was three, when I was nine, and we moved back there permanently when I was thirteen. Every time I had seen Gunther he changed, he went from a cute toddler to a cute kid, and now that he has lost all of his baby fat and gotten more muscular he's not just cute anymore. But he was my friend, he didn't think of me that way.

"Do you know what it's like?" A voice whispered into my ear

I whipped my head around, accidentally smacking Mouth in the face with my hair.

"Do I know what what's like?" I asked

"To watch your sibling make out with your best friend?" Mouth groaned

"My siblings are ten" I said "By the time they get girlfriends I will be in university"

"Lucky you" He snapped "I mean how would she feel if I dated her… best friend…"

He trailed off, and I had just one thing on my mind. This cant be good.

()()()

Kick's Play list #1

"Off to Vermont" or "Awkward car ride of awkward silence"

Back in Black by AC/DC

Keep Your Eyes Open by NEEDTOBREATHE

Teenage Wasteland by The Who

The Wall by Pink Floyd

Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana

Sixteen Saltines by Jack White

Some Nights by Fun

My Wish by Rascal Flatts

Hurt Me Tomorrow by K'naan

Every Rose Has It's Thorn by Poison

Release Me by Pearl Jam

Kick's side notes: Things are getting awkward. New Hampshire is a very awkward state. Hitting Vermont in exactly half an hour.

**Avery: It's done! Yes! I successfully completed this chapter and it only took me six hours :)**** Well hope you enjoyed and what you thought of the play list, I'm trying to give everyone a different preferable music style. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	5. Muggle Quidditch and Art Festivals

Muggle Quidditch and Art Festivals

**Avery: This chapter took a long time and I apologize for my absence I just have so much to do. Btw if you have not read Harry Potter then some of this chapter may be confusing to you.**

-Kendall-

It was three in the afternoon by the time we reached Burlington, Vermont. There was an awkward silence the entire car ride that made the ride feel much longer than it actually was. The only noise was the radio, which I had turned up a bit louder than usual to mask the awkward silence. I almost couldn't believe he events of today, why hadn't Christina told me that she liked Ronaldo? If she had told me years ago I would have helped her, I could have even set them up on a date. But no, she didn't tell me so now I turn around in the passenger's seat and see Christina and Ronaldo, sitting on opposite ends of the car, looking out the window. She hasn't even look me in the eyes since the incident. My thoughts are broken when the car jerks sideways and Kick honks the horn loudly as another driver swerves into the lane, cutting us off.

Kick flipped him the bird and yelled "Watch the road not your phone asshole!"

I slumped down in my seat and pulled out my laptop and saw two unread e-mails, one from my mom and one from Ember.

()()()

From: Carmellaperkins

To: Kendallperky

Subject: Hope your doing well

Hi Sweetheart,

I just wanted to make sure that you were doing well and that the trip is right on track. I assume your somewhere in Vermont by now? Or hopefully New York, you know how road trips can be. Sometimes your ahead of schedule and sometimes your behind. Ember probably can't wait to see you, you know she doesn't fly home very often. Please E-mail back soon, and say hi to Clarence for me.

Love,

Your Mother

From: Kendallperky

To: Carmellaperkins

Subject: Doing fine

Hi Mom,

Everything is going great. We had a few unexpected surprises but all in all everything is fine. We are in Vermont right now and will be staying here tonight and on our way to New York tomorrow. We hope to get to Seattle by the end of next week, and I really cant wait to see Ember again, it's been too long. I'll e-mail you back with an update soon.

Love,Kendall

From: Emberthecoolandsexy

To: Kendallperky

Subject: Can't wait to see you

Hey Kendall,

Had THE BEST night out ever! I don't remember half of it but that's what made it that much more epic! Apparently I was dancing with this guy and things got a little "heated up" if you know what I mean. You know how college guys love their Jack. LMFAO! If your not stressing about senior year when you get here then you should come party with me and my new BF. That would be totes magoats awesome! But hey take your time getting here, the longer you take the more time I have to go crazy! GTG the boyfriend is taking me out tonight, TTYL!

Xoxo,

Ember

()()()

I deleted Ember's e-mail. I don't get my sister at all, she hardly ever calls or comes home to visit. She also loved slang, which makes me cringe, I hated slang, al those abbreviations and shortened words. Slang is for people who are too lazy to actually write words and instead type "LOL" when most of the time they are not even laughing. And totes magoats? Seriously Ember? And another thing I don't get about her, why does she find partying so much fun? I mean you drink too many coronas and oops your drunk and puking your guts out. Then the next morning you get a severe hangover, your head hurts like hell, and you stink of beer. Then you have to pretend that you don't have a hangover which is worse then everything you did last night, especially if you have to go to school or work like that. A friend of mine has come to school with a hangover on more then one occasion, once she lied and said she had a stomach flu to explain her puking. I just don't get why people do that. Also I'm pretty sure Ember just e-mailed to brag about how many boys she can hook up with at one party, her record is five. Skank.

()()()

-Fiona-

"_It's all right to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth you loving them. As long as they deserve it." _

I slammed shut my book after reading that line. I was reading _Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. _I didn't exactly get the meaning behind that sentence. Why is it not a waste to love someone if they don't love you back? Wouldn't that mean you wasted your life loving them when you could have been loving another boy? I wouldn't know, because I've never been in love. I've always been a little shy around boys, I've never dated a guy, I've never kissed a guy, and I've never cared. So when my friends were talking about their first kisses I was talking about being a wizard or a demigod, fiction was better then reality anyways. In my mind I could be Katniss, trying to survive the Hunger Games. Or Hermione, flying on a broomstick and casting spells. Or even Thalia, strong and fearless, the most amazing demigod in the house of Zeus, and the fiercest hunter of Artemis that there ever was. But sadly they were all impossibilities.

We came to a stop outside of the downtown area in Burlington, Vermont. The streets were lined with many shops and restaurants, there were many artists selling paintings and jewellery, and there was a stage set up in the middle of the town square where a band was covering "Penny Lane" by The Beatles. A large blue banner was hanging overhead with the words "Art and Literature Appreciation Festival June 9-19." I've never really understood art beyond the literary type. I understood poetry being people's personal thoughts and feelings and writing being a way of escaping. But I never understood other artworks, how is a paintbrush going to help you express yourself? And can someone please revive Shakespeare and have him translate all of his plays into real words? And dance is not art it's a sport. And music nowadays is a Popapocalypse with "Bieber Fever" and "One Direction Infection" as if there are no better genres out there. I like country music the best.

I could hear Christina gasp in excitement beside me, which only she would at an arts festival.

"Oh my God its beautiful" She said, rushing toward a booth with weird artworks.

A few of the works caught my eye, an angel stepping out of a river with the moon behind his head, a small blonde girl with a dirt filled face fixing a clock, and a single red rose that was falling from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I was most confused by the angel stepping out of a river, then I noticed something, the angel's reflection in the water was a girl. The girl had flaming red hair, while the angel boy had blonde hair. It was a representation of heaven and hell, good and bad, love and lust.

"I like this one" Christina said, pointing to the angel painting I was staring at "I love how the angel boy is above, wearing all white and the dark angel girl is below wearing all black"

"I liked that one too" The artist said, he looked exactly like John Lennon, only with shorter hair "Very time consuming and very tricky to pain, but I loved it. Are you an artist miss?"

"Yes I am" Christina replied "I love art, my favourite artist is Van Gough"

"You have very good taste" The John Lennon look alike told her

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from my friends, on the other side of the street a man sat in a chair watching two teenagers do what appeared to be a recitation of a poem in the form of interpretive dance.

"Do not go gentle into that good night" The girl said, reaching out to touch the air, lunging forward as if trying to reach something that was being taken away from her.

"Old age should burn and rave at close of day" The boy said, picking up the girl and lifting her up to the sky, her arms spread out like an angel.

I smiled, I knew this poem, it was by a man named Dylan Thomas. It was one of the poems that we studied in English class this year. It was a beautiful poem that made me cry at times, I've experienced so much in my short seventeen years. When I was a baby my great aunt took me away from my sixteen year old mother and put me up for adoption claiming that my mother had a lot to live for and having a child would just ruin it. So I was adopted by a kind family that had just lost a son in a car crash, so basically I'm a replaced family member. They wanted to rename me Juana, after their deceased son Juan, and lucky for me they decided to let me keep the name my mother gave me. Then my foster parents got a divorce and my mom adopted another baby, another replaced family member. That's all my foster mom thinks when she looks at me, everyone is replaceable. I then felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around, expecting it to be Kendall or Christina, but it wasn't. It was Mouth.

-Mouth-

"What are you watching?" I asked Fiona as the two teenagers she was watching took a bow.

"Just an interpretive dance, or a poem recitation, I'm not really sure which" She replied, I couldn't help but smirk

"Are you enjoying the festival?" I asked

"Not really" Fiona replied "I don't really get visual art, I mean I get literary artworks but I don't get visual art"

"Well it's an expression" I told her confidently "How you may interpret something may be completely different from how I would interpret it. For instance that painting over there"

I pointed at a painting that showed a large rocky gorge with two people on opposite ends of it, a boy and a girl. They were reaching out to each other from opposite ends of the gorge, as if they could touch each other from where they stood.

"What do you see when you look at this painting?" I asked

"I see a boy and a girl trying to reach each other even though that's impossible" She replied flatly

"Well that's what you see" I said "What I see is two lovers that are forced apart and just want to be together, maybe they shouldn't be apart, maybe they just cant find love until they are actually together, or maybe they are right next to each other and feel worlds apart"

"Wow, I never pegged you to be the deep type" Fiona said in shock

"Don't tell anyone, but Christina has forever embedded art into my brain" I told her

She chuckled and started walking towards a small stage, I followed close behind. This was my chance to woo her, and show Christina just how it feels to see your sibling with your best friend.

"Attention everyone!" A Chinese woman exclaimed cheerfully on stage "We are looking for one young man and woman for a parody of Romeo and Juliet"

The woman's eyes scanned the audience, I could see Fiona avert her eyes, hoping the woman would glance right by her. Poor shy little thing, I remember when we were ten years old and she had to say a speech to the class and she fainted. The woman's dark eyes fell on me and rested there.

"How about you young man" She said pointing to me with a smile, I slowly made my way to the small stage when the woman said "And bring your girlfriend with you"

I looked back at Fiona, whose face was now as crimson red as her strawberry blonde hair. I walked back to her and offered my hand, which she hesitantly took, and the two of us made our way onto the stage. She looked a bit nervous, and I was hoping there wouldn't be any fainting but if she fell I'd catch her.

"Now you know the story of the Capulets and the Vermontagues correct?" The woman asked

"Vermontagues" Fiona snickered, she had such a cute laugh… Did I actually just think that? I couldn't have, she was my sister's best friend, and my ticket to revenge.

"Now in fair Vermont where we lay our stage," The woman began "two star crossed lovers meet from two opposing geek wars! The Harry Potter Heads and The Lord of The Ringers! Everyone knows how the feud started. It started as a simple game of who is better? Dumbledore or Gandalf? The girl came from the Potter Heads, and the boy from The Ringers. You two ready?"

"We don't have scripts" Fiona whispered

"Just improvise, it's a parody" The woman whispered back

"Oh boy" Fiona breathed with no enthusiasm

I had never read Harry Potter, and I'll tell you why. Seven long books! Who has time to read seven long books? Apparently a lot of people, including Fiona. Then again I had never read The Lord Of The Rings either, but I did watch all the movies.

"They've taken the hobbits to Isengard!" I yelled, as a bunch of people laughed.

There was a small awkward silence, and I looked over at Fiona, she looked as nervous as ever. I felt the need to comfort her, but I had to stay in character. Finally she spoke.

"Master has given Dobby a sock. Dobby is free." Fiona said in her best Dobby voice, making everyone laugh again

"Hey hot stuff wanna piece of this ringer?" I asked, in an attempt to make her laugh and break character

She blushed and said "If you can beat me at Muggle Quidditch"

"Muggle what?" I said

"I need a broom!" Fiona exclaimed

"I have an umbrella" a man said

"That will do" Fiona replied, taking the umbrella, putting it between her legs as if it were a magic broomstick, and running around the small stage making a whooshing noise. "You ready player?"

An older man handed me a walking cane and held it between my legs like a broom. Fiona pointed to a young boy, probably around ten years old, in the audience wearing a red and yellow striped scarf, Gryffindor colours.

"Do you want to be the snitch?" Fiona asked him

"Yes!" The boy yelled, running up to Fiona

"I don't know how to play this game" I whispered to Fiona

"Keep your broom up, catch the snitch, win the game" She whispered back, she turned to the boy "You ready?"

"Yes" The boy said cheerfully

"Game on!" Fiona shouted

The young boy ran around the audience, he was fast and very hard to catch. I had never played Quidditch before and I thought it was a bit of a weird game. Fiona kept cutting in front of me, even she was faster then me. I really should work out more. Eventually I did catch the little boy, who had been enjoying himself, he must really love this game. Fiona and I took the stage once again.

"So now will you go out with me?" I asked

"Well only because you're hot" She replied, I know she was acting but I couldn't help but blush "But since you're a Lord of the Rings fan my friends cant see me with you or they will kick me out of Hogwarts"

"Well if my friends see me with you they will feed me to the Orcs but is that not worth it?" I asked her

"Nah" Fiona said, causing an eruption of laughter from the audience "my heart belongs to Harry"

"But I'm better then Harry" I said, then I cleared my throat "Because I'm batman"

"I thought you were a hobbit" Fiona said

"That too" I added

"Kiss her" I woman from the audience yelled, followed by hooting and hollering

Her eyes widened and before she could say anything I grabbed her by the waist, dipped her, and crashed my lips to her. This may or may not be shocking to you but I've never had a girlfriend and I've never been kissed. When we broke Fiona just looked stunned and I had the biggest smile ever across my face. The Chinese woman came on stage and whispered something to Fiona, she nodded and the woman gave me a tiny square bottle of brown liquid titled "Weedosoros" with a little sticky note attached saying "Drink me." So I did, don't worry it was just diet Pepsi.

"Oh no!" Fiona yelled "Weedosoros is poison!"

A collective gasp came from the audience as I fell over, pretending to be dead. Fiona rushed over to me and knelled down.

"Oh you poor ringer, poisoned by the Potter heads" She said, her voice breaking with despair. She always seemed so shy, I had never seen her act this way before. She was so far out of her comfort zone, yet she was right at home.

"I'll never love again!" She exclaimed, collapsing right next to me

We both stood up and took a bow, followed by a thunderous applause by the audience. We started walking back to where our friends had been before. We found them sitting in a Starbucks, all sipping hot chocolate and talking. Christina became quiet when she saw me and looked away, I didn't blame her.

"Where were you guys?" Jackie asked

"Just walking around" We said in unison

()()()

Moxie's Play list #3

"I'm artsy and I know it" or "Don't judge a Radiohead song by it's title"

Give Up The Ghost by Radiohead

Good Riddance by Green Day

Clocks by Cold Play

What's Up by 4 Non-Blondes

What The Hell by Avril Lavigne

Head First by Goldfrapp

Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Perfect by Hedley

The Show by Lenka

Honey and the Bee by Owl City

Bring Me To Life by Evanescence

No You Girls by Franz Ferdinan

Moxie's side notes: Still in Vermont, we drove an hour out of Burlington before crashing in a hotel for the night. For some reason Fiona wont stop talking about Quidditch, whatever that is.

**Avery: I am actually a bit disappointed with this chapter so if you hate then join the club because I hate it too. Well review anyways and I promise the next chapter will be better. Lets just say I'm tired and with the holidays coming I have a lot to work on and I'm sorry. Happy Holidays everyone weather you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Ramadan, I hope your holidays are amazing. **


	6. New York New York

New York New York

**Avery: I'm a New York City girl. Okay, not really, but I wish. So far this is the only state in this story I've actually been to, I love NYC. But sadly due to the route Kick and his friends are taking (and geography) I cant have them go to NYC because it wouldn't make much sense. Sorry ): And please dont hate me cuz I have not put much Kick and Kendall in this story, but I'll try harder, promise :) Enjoy!**

-Jackie-

I had never heard guns before. I had never listened to see if they were even there. This was the day I had first seen it, the undeclared war. I was such an innocent nine year old, never in my life had I imagined such a war. Gunshots, discrimination, hatred, and from people who were under the age of eighteen nonetheless. Adults did nothing to stop it, and children were defenceless, silently waiting in the shadows, praying for freedom. Their voices lost forever, but if you listened hard enough then you could hear the whispers of the undeclared war. This war just began out of fear, fear of those that are different, and that didn't just include race, it included those that were of different religion, those who were fat, and many more. Including those who were homosexual.

I've never had a problem with people who are different, in fact I embraced different. But so many people are against change. What they don't realize is that change can be positive, and if things don't change then nothing will ever get better. I truly realized all of this eight years ago.

"Do you think I should get this for Liza?" Rachael asked me, holding up a very interesting looking necklace with a rainbow coloured heart.

I tilted my head to the side, not really understanding the point in giving something to someone you love. What if they hate it? Or think it's weird? Then you would have spent your money for absolutely nothing. But Rachael seemed happy. Its not like she, or any of us, expected this to happen, but no one ever really does. Liza was a lesbian, and she had always been so open about it, she didn't care that she was different. When Rachael met Liza she didn't know that she would fall in love with her, or that Liza would love her back. They seemed very in love and very happy. But everyone at school frowned upon their relationship, believing it was either sinful and wrong, or that they were slutty dykes.

"Liza will love it" I said as Rachael went to the cashier

"I'll love what?" A feminine voice said from behind us

"Hey!" Rachael said, smiling and hugging her girlfriend, they held hands as they walked down the street.

A small group of girls walked up to us, making Rachael and Liza stop in their tracks. The girls surrounded us, making us back into a nearby alleyway.

"I'm sorry sluts I don't remember welcoming dykes into this neighbourhood" Said a tall brunette with light amber eyes. She was so thin, someone that thin cant be healthy.

"Just leave us alone Amanda" Rachael snapped at her

"Why should I listen to you?" Amanda asked meanly "I'm not a little dyke like you"

The girls laughed and pushed Rachael, Liza stepped in front of Rachael, shielding her from Amanda and her friends.

"Don't touch her!" Liza screamed

"Oh look at the dyke protecting her dyke" Another girl laughed

A raven haired girl with grey eyes started poking at me, suddenly I was shoved into a wall. I may have only been nine but, like my mother, I had started puberty very early. I probably looked thirteen at nine and a half.

"And who is this?" The raven haired girl asked "The third in your threesome? You little skanks?"

I was enraged, I shoved the raven haired girl off of me, she fell into someone's garbage can. I started laughing.

"At least she can get some" I retaliated

"Oh no she didn't" A tall blonde girl said in a very threatening way

I was shoved against the wall by Amanda and, before I could even blink, a gun was shoved in between my eyes. Everyone around me looked shocked, as if they never expected Amanda to take out a hand gun.

"One more little word and your going to hell slut" Amanda whispered dauntingly

Suddenly the gun was knocked out of her hand, it fell to the ground and made a loud bang as a stray bullet flew into a nearby fire hydrant, causing water to leak out. I was startled and slightly frightened by what I had just witnessed, and even more startled to see Rachael standing in between me and Amanda.

"If you touch her your dead" She snapped

Amanda just shrugged.

"Fine" she said nonchalantly before grabbing Rachael by the shoulders and shoving her into the concrete wall head first.

I felt hot tears form in my eyes as I heard a loud, bloody murder, scream. And it took a moment for me to realize that that scream had come out of my mouth. My cousin was still half-conscious and her head was bleeding. The girls in the group had picked up some of the trash in the alley, a broomstick, a frying pan, a rope, even a steel pipe, and started hitting Rachael. I stared, frozen in place, looking at my almost unconscious cousin. I didn't know what to do. All I could hear was her whispering one little word, to both me and Liza "Run." I obeyed, she would be okay, right? An ambulance would come, the paramedics would fix her, and everything would be okay. I tried my best to convince myself this as a dragged a screaming and crying Liza away from the group, knowing that if she stayed she would be next. We ran into the nearest store and called the hospital from there. Liza told about how this happened a lot, she told me about the bullying, the racism, the gangs, the murders. How you could get attacked at any given moment. People were killed for being the wrong religion, and the wrong race, and having the wrong sexual choices. Since Liza was lesbian she had a bulls eye on her back, and she had to do everything to avoid getting hit with the bullets and harsh words. I hugged her and the both of us began crying hysterically once again. Through our screaming and crying we hardly heard the sirens of the ambulance pulling up next to the alleyway. Liza and I went to the hospital crying, and we cried even more when we discovered that Rachael had been beaten to her death.

()()()

After driving all day, crashing in a hotel, and another six hours of driving, we reached good old Youngstown, New York. It was almost a comforting feeling to be back in New York. I hadn't been here in so long, mostly because this is the state where I lost my best friend. She was the only person who paid me any attention, and ever since the day she died I've craved it. Attention was the one and only thing I've ever wanted. Maybe that's why I follow Kick around all the time, I just want the attention that I never got when I was younger. I guess I just cant find attention the same way my cousin Ralph does, by singing in glee club, and getting the male lead in the musical. Before you jump to stereotypes let me just clarify that he is not gay, in fact I think he originally joined glee club and musical so that he could flirt with girls.

"_Start spreading the news_" Moxie started singing the best song ever "_I'm leaving today, I wanna be a part of it! New York New York!_"

"You know that song?" I asked Moxie

"Yeah, it's a great song" She replied "Reminds me of my favourite state, New York. Nothing like going to the Rockefeller center, and shopping in time square, and throwing stuff from the top of the Empire State Building"

"Isn't it illegal to drop something from the top of the empire state building?" Kick asked in his always smooth voice

"I don't know" Moxie replied "But, if it is, people do it anyway"

"It's too bad we're not going to New York City" Kendall said sadly

I slouched back in my seat and looked out the window at the familiar town passing before my eyes. The water park that was my summer paradise as a child, the Red Lobster where my aunt took us for dinner, and the Menchies where Ralph and I blended every ice cream flavour into our cups and got brain freezes. We were turning down my aunt's street when I realized, the journey is almost over for me. I almost feel like I've been dreading my destination so much that I haven't been enjoying the ride. All I know is we are turning up my aunt's driveway and I see a familiar blue eyed blonde standing on the front porch. He's grown up a lot, his sandy hair is nicely cut and his always kind smile shines brightly. I missed that smile. I jumped out of the car and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Welcome home Jackie" He whispered

"I missed you Ralph" I whispered into his chest.

I think I heard my voice cracking a bit because I was about to cry, there were tears in my eyes that were threatening to fall down. I could hear my friends footsteps on the cobblestone walkway behind me, but I was too busy hugging an old friend to turn around and give introductions.

"Jacklyn!" Aunt Jennifer exclaimed, throwing her arms around me "Robert! She's here!"

The hug broke as my Uncle Robert stepped outside, he was in his pajamas with a long bathrobe overtop and slippers. The last time I had seen him he was in a business suit and talking on a cell phone, it was almost like seeing a whole other person. I remembered that my mom had mentioned that Uncle Robert lost his job the last time she talked to Jennifer, but I assumed he'd be back on his feet by now.

"Jackie you've grown up so much" Uncle Robert said, smiling warmly and giving me a tight hug

"Well this is slightly awkward for us" I heard Kick whisper to Kendall, who stifled a laugh in agreement

"Who are your friends?" Aunt Jennifer asked me

"This is Kick, Gunther, Kendall, Moxie, Mouth, Christina, Ronaldo, and Fiona" I said without a pause. My Aunt and Uncle smiled at them kindly.

"Since your all here why don't you stay for lunch" Aunt Jennifer suggested

Everyone nodded in agreement and followed my aunt and uncle into the house. Soon it was just me and Ralph alone on the porch. I smiled at him, a smile that he kindly returned.

"Should we go inside?" He asked

"You go, I haven't felt the New York air in years," I replied "I've forgotten how beautiful this place was"

He chuckled a bit under his breath and went into his house. I slowly walked down the porch steps and down the driveway, and stared at the car that had brought me this far. It wasn't leaving me behind just yet. Carefully, I unscrewed the little air valve that kept the tires inflated, it made a soft hissing noise like a deflating balloon. And in a matter of minutes the tire was completely flat. I walked into the house with just one thing on my mind, you guys aren't going anywhere.

Moxie's Play list #4

"New girl in New York" or "Empire State of Awesome" or "Kendall can you please be DJ now?"

New York New York by Frank Sinatra

New York City by John Lennon

Empire State of Mind by Jay Z

Strawberry Fields by The Beatles

Angel of Harlem by U2

Imagine by John Lennon

The Rising by Bruce Springsteen

New York, I Love You But Your Bringing Me Down by LCD Soundsystem

No Sleep Till Brooklyn by Beastie Boys

53rd and 3rd by The Ramones

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters by Elton John

Moxie's side notes: I know you did it Jackie -_-

**Avery: Yup, she's still wacky. I hope you like this chapter, and that you like the play list, its all New York themed songs. Happy Holidays!**


	7. Lost IN New York

Lost In New York

**Avery: Welcome to beautiful and wonderful New York City! Lets take a walk in central park and eat some tacos (: Okay, after the chapter, enjoy my friends!**

-Moxie-

I could see her in the driveway from the kitchen window, slowly draining the air out of our tires. I should have known her schizophrenic nature would result some form of a horrible disaster. Let the nightmare begin. I stepped out of the kitchen and stood in the hallway in front of the door, arms crossed like an angry mother waiting for her child to walk through the door. That is when Jackie quietly opened the door, hoping to waltz in unnoticed, but she stopped abruptly in her tracks at the sight of me. The "Oh shit" look on her face said the unspoken word travelling through my mind. Busted.

"Please don't tell them." Jackie pleaded.

"Why should I listen to you for even a moment?" I questioned. "You've been wearing the mask of a normal girl since we found you hiding in our car trunk. But that's not you, you are someone who is insane and has been insane since the day I met you."

I was about to turn and leave her standing in the hallway. I would tell my friends about the sabotage Jackie had done to our car, and it all would be dealt with from there. But then I heard her voice, it sounded distant and hoarse, but it was still there.

"Mariana, I know I'm insane." Jackie said, I cringed, I hated my full name. "I cant help it, my mom tells me it's because I'm young and impulsive. I guess I've just never had my way, before moving to Mellowbrook all I ever did was think about others. I did anything people wanted me to do, I completely ignored myself. And, since I never got anything I wanted, I decided to fight for it."

"Well what do you want?" I asked.

"Friends that wont use me for my kindness." she answered unhappily.

"You haven't had any real friends since Rachael died have you?" I asked in realization.

Her head drooped down, and a long frown crossed her face. I felt somewhat bad for Jackie, even if she went as far as taking all the air out of our tires and forcing us to be stranded in New York until we found a solution. All she wanted was a friend, and I don't blame her, without friends who will stand by you during your crucial adolescent years then you might as well go crazy. She had gone through so much trauma and suffering in her short life and never learned how to find silver linings.

"What do you want me to tell them?" I asked her sympathetically.

"I'll figure something out," Jackie said quickly "Just go eat, I'll be there in a minute"

I obeyed her order without questioning, I sat down at the kitchen table with my friends who were already chatting about the rest of the trip. I glanced out the window and saw Jackie talking to some boys on the street, they looked younger then Jackie but older then my brothers. The boys nodded and smirked at whatever she was saying and ran into the closest house, while Jackie made a beeline for the front door. Once she was inside the house Kendall asked what she was doing outside, to which she replied something about how the street reminded her of when Rachael was alive. Ralph talked a lot about musicals, apparently they were a thing with him, he's even a member of a theatre club at the local community center.

"That is awesome," I exclaimed at the mention of musicals. "Not many guys like musicals, unless their gay"

I then eyed him a bit suspiciously, he just laughed and shook his head of sandy blonde locks. They looked so tousled and touchable, I wondered if his hair felt as soft as it appeared. Just imagining it made my face turn red, which is sadly very noticeable on me due to my lack of a tan complexion.

"Well I'm walking over there in an hour if you wanted to join me." Ralph offered with a heart melting smile.

My heart did a flip. I couldn't have said yes fast enough.

()()()

"What the hell happened?" Kick exclaimed when he saw that our car had been egged and our tires had been drained of air. So that's why Jackie was talking to those boys.

"Calm down Kick" Kendall told him gently, placing her hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

He brushed her off. "Why should I calm down Kendall? Our rental car has flat tires and it's been egged! We are no where near Seattle and if you haven't noticed we were supposed to be in Nebraska by now!"

"Kick!" Kendall shouted, then she sighed, calming down. "We'll stay behind, you guys have fun."

She slowly took his arm and guided him back inside the house. I know it was just to calm him down but I cant help but wonder if something will happen. Although enough has happened already, ever since we left Vermont I've caught Mouth and Fiona exchanging the cutest little glances, it reminds me of middle school. Then there's Ronaldo and Christina, who talked as if nothing had ever happened between them, but neither of them had looked Mouth or Kendall in the eye since we found them making out. At least Gunther and I are normal, still friends, still talking like friends. And woe is me, moping over my failed love life, wishing my best friend would like me back. I realize that maybe Sgt. Pepper had it right, maybe I should join his Lonely Hearts Club Band.

"We ready to go?" Ralph asked, he was staring right at me, a look that made my face turn crimson. I shyly nodded as he opened the door to his car, allowing me to climb into the passenger's seat. I turned on the radio and slouched in the seat as Bon Jovi blared in the speakers, lightly tapping out the beat on the dashboard with my fingers.

"Do you play drums?" Ralph asked me.

"Guitar," I replied "And I used to play piano when I was younger."

"Cool." He replied, but his voice was stale and awkward. That meant either he didn't have much experience with girls or he's just awkward.

"She is an amazing singer." Jackie said from the back, trying to salvage our conversation.

"Really?" Ralph replied, sounding interested.

"I sing a bit." I said flatly.

"A bit? Moxie doesn't stop singing." Mouth said. I looked at Ralph and blushed.

"Well," Ralph said, smirking slyly. "I cant wait to introduce you to the theatre girls, you'll love them"

Theatre girls. A room full of theatre girls, that is all I thought. What if Ralph was dating one of them? Or two of them? What if he was a player that had a new bimbo on his arm every day? If he were the only strait guy in his theatre club then all the girls would be chasing him, literally. What if he was like the guys back home? Most of them were cocky athletes and juvenile delinquents, most of them were likely to fail out of high school. Moving around so much I realized one thing, guys are himbos. They may as well all be named John Tucker. And if Ralph was a cute, irresistible, John Tucker I was not prepared to kill him. Yet. We pulled into the community center parking lot, a bunch of children were screaming and laughing on the playground, and through an open window I could smell the delicious treats of what was most likely a cooking class. Ralph held open the large glass door for us to enter, I think I caught him staring at me as I walked in.

"The theatre is this way," He explained as he walked down the hallway. "There's some classes in progress, it's best that we don't make a lot of noise so no one is disturbed."

So he was creative and respectful? The John Tucker status I unfairly gave him was slowly melting away as I followed him down the hallway. Fiona grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

"You don't think he'll make us perform, do you?" She whispered timidly.

"Probably not if you don't want to." I explained softly. Ralph didn't seem like the type of guy that would force a girl to do something that they didn't want to do, however some boys could be a little persuasive.

"You guys coming?" Gunther's voice called from a large double door down the hallway that was propped open. I assumed that Ralph, Ronaldo, Christina, and Mouth were already inside.

"Yeah." I called back, running ahead with Fiona close behind me.

-Kendall-

"I am not tying wet nylon tights around my head." Kick yelled at me as he lay on the sofa massaging his forehead.

"It will help your headache," I snapped sternly.

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the cool, damp, tights and wrapped it gently around his head. He mumbled something about me being a smart ass before closing his eyes in an attempt to rest. I sat down on the armrest and stared at Kick's face for a moment, he looked so peaceful and tranquil, like a little kid. My eyes then scanned the walls where a family portrait was hung, holding the smiling faces of four people. The mother and father smiled happily at the camera, they looked warm and inviting, like the friendliest people in the world. The two children looked almost identical, both of them had sandy coloured hair and crystal blue eyes.

"She was beautiful wasn't she?" Asked a kind voice from behind me.

I spun around quickly and saw Jennifer in the doorway with a tray of freshly baked cookies, her smile was just as beautiful as the picture of her family.

"She was," I responded kindly. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

Jennifer's cast her gaze down and smiled sadly. "She would have wanted Jackie to come back, I'm sure that she always wanted too but after the incident I didn't blame her for being afraid."

"What happened exactly?" I asked curiously.

"She was out with Rachael and they met up with Rachael's girlfriend, Liza." Jennifer explained, her voice cracked a bit, hurt by the memory. "A group of girls ganged up on them, one of them almost shot Jackie. They thought Jackie was another lesbian."

"They couldn't tell that Jackie was four years younger?" I asked in disbelief.

"No," Jennifer explained. "When Jackie was nine she hit a big growth spurt, if you didn't know her then you would assume she was thirteen, and Rachael was so small for her age."

I understood perfectly well, me and Jackie were the two tallest girls in the grade. Which might have been a little intimidating to some of the boys since we were both taller then them. It was never fun being taller then everyone else in the fifth grade, I was so tall, and so thin, and I had the body of a thirteen year old. Moxie's mom looked at me and kept telling me how lucky I was, telling me that I was so pretty. I didn't believe her at all, my strait hair was very thin and limp, and my eyes were the colour of dark chocolate. It wasn't until high school that I grew slower and other people caught up to me, it's better this way, I'm no longer the tallest girl and neither is Jackie.

"You know Kendall I think Jackie took her death the hardest," Jennifer explained solemnly. "Jackie had a wall up when her dad left, she completely blocked everyone out, but Rachael was always there for her, always her friend."

I smiled a bit, but it was a bittersweet smile. "So Rachael was her only friend."

"And Ralph," Jennifer added. "But I'm glad that she now has you as a friend."

Jennifer smiled at me as she walked out of the room, I tried my best to smile too but I couldn't. I had never been nice to Jackie, I mean I had done everything from threaten to sew her face to the ground to apparently stealing her man. Did I really just think that? I had always thought that if Kick had to choose between me, Jackie, and a bloodthirsty zombie he would have been fully prepared to die. I sat on the sofa by Kick's feet and turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until it landed on Gilmore Girls, which I hadn't seen in a really long time. It was such a funny show, there were little things, hidden references, that made this show a classic. The theme song had just started when I heard a deep, smooth, voice.

"This is a good song" The voice said. I turned my head and saw Kick lying there with his baby blue eyes wide open, staring at the TV screen.

"Yeah, It's a great song" I replied.

"What's it called?" He asked, as he sat up and moved closer to me.

"I don't really know what the song is called." I replied, I had half the mind to move away from him and half the mind to get closer, I stayed put.

"Do you watch shows like this?" He asked. I gave him a curious glance, he had never been interested in what I liked before.

"Yeah," I replied with a smile. "I've always liked these shows."

We both turned our attention back to the television screen and watched the show, I was surprised by how much Kick seemed to enjoy the show. He had been so stressed, it was good to see him laughing and enjoying himself. Not that I care or anything. But it's unhealthy to be so stressed out, yet I don't think I have ever seen him be so stressed out.

"What was the whole freak out over the car thing about?" I asked him. His head turned slowly and his baby blue eyes locked with my light brown orbs. He kept his gaze for a moment before turning his attention back to the television, mumbling something under his breath.

"What was that?" I questioned, he didn't answer. That's when I grew livid. "Kick!"

He jolted strait up and looked at me. Then he sighed. "Your mom thinks I'm a distraction, my mom even told me to stay on her route just to please her and currently we are way off course."

I felt the sudden need to say something, to reach out and touch him, to hug him. I fought it though, I couldn't let him know I felt sympathetic. I had always known that my mom hated Kick, ever since we were little kids. My mom liked elegance, poise, equity, she wanted a daughter that would take charge, one that would be on the honour role, one that would live a pure life. She gave up on Ember after she got to middle school, she let her grades drop, she wore skirts that were the size of handkerchiefs, and shirts that showed way too much cleavage. After the fiasco with Ember my mom made it her mission to make sure I never became like that. My mom picked out what she called "Sophisticated" outfits for me, she tutored me on the importance of studying, equity, and respect. That is also why my relationship with Ronaldo was secret, my mom didn't want me to date boys so young. In my mothers opinion boyfriends at young ages led to impurity at young ages, what could I have possibly been doing at twelve years old? Besides accidentally kissing Kick twice. My mom thought that Kick was the complete opposite of poise and equity, that he couldn't be a proper man even if he tried. My mom didn't know him the way I did, the way that he could go from an extreme daredevil without rules to a friendly and likeable guy. Wait, did I just call him likeable?

"Kick, I know your mad about what happened to the car," I told him sympathetically. "We are going to get through this small roadblock, and we are going to get to Seattle."

He smiled at me, it was a real, genuine smile. "Thank you Kendall."

Thank you Kendall, never thought that I'd hear those words come out of his mouth. We both turned our attention back to the television and watched the rest of Gilmore Girls in silence.

**Avery: I apologize for my absence but I have a very good excuse: Exam week. I barely had time to do anything but today there was so much snow that they cancelled school so I got to write the chapter today, Yay! Sorry there is no play list, but the next chapter will make up for it, I promise.**


	8. Broadway Melody

The Broadway Melody

**Avery: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

-Fiona-

When I walked into the room the first thing that caught my eye was the stage. It was not that high, probably only three or four feet off the ground. There were chairs stacked in neat piles against the walls that would be set up during show time. There were people everywhere, there was a group of college girls sitting on the stage talking, I overheard a nerd war between three boys about star trek. There was a group of people reading in a corner and another group playing some sort of hand slapping game.

"Ralph!" A girl who was sitting on the edge of the stage screamed and waved. "Hi Ralph!"

My friends and I followed Ralph to the stage where the girl sat. The girl had dark hair that was cut short in a pixie style and eyes that were two different colours, one green and one brown. Around her neck she wore a rainbow coloured pendant in the shape of a heart. Ralph smiled at her and climbed onto the stage to sit beside her.

"Hi Jackie" The girl said with a smile. I was a bit confused, how did this girl know who Jackie was? I turned my head to look at Jackie, whose eyes seemed to light up in recognition.

"Liza?" Jackie asked curiously. The girl smiled and nodded as she jumped down from the stage and gave Jackie a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been good," Liza replied with a smile. "Amanda and her friends got arrested, and I joined the theatre club, everyone was so nice and accepting of me."

"Any new girls?" Jackie asked curiously.

Girls? Wait…

"A few but none can compare to Rach." Liza replied sadly.

"This is Liza," Ralph explained to us. "She was Rachael's girlfriend."

I smiled at her awkwardly, I have never been a homophobe before, however I had also never been around a lesbian before. My friends didn't seem to mind her sexual orientation. Moxie was sincere and friendly, as she always is, Christina and Ronaldo found out that she loved watching The Big Bang Theory and Breaking Bad as much as they did, and Gunther talked to her as if they'd known each other for years.

I slowly drifted away from the group and sat down at a table in the center of the room, high school and college students talked in groups around me, but I didn't care. I just sat down in the chair and read my book. That's when I heard a knocking noise on the table.

"Knock, knock!" A female voice said as she knocked on the table.

Without putting my book down I glanced at the owner of the voice. A tall girl, in her freshmen year of college perhaps, was standing over me. She was a very colourful girl, and yes colourful is the only way I could describe her. Her hair was bright red, obviously dyed, she wore a lime green tee-shirt saying "Hi, I'm Awkward" in big black letters, and she had a temporary tattoo of a moustache on her arm.

"Hello," She said flatly. "Your sitting in my seat."

"Oh," I said timidly, quickly getting up and closing my book. "Sorry."

The girl burst out laughing, and my face turned so red it matched my hair. "Kid I'm just playing with you," She said through laughs, she then extended her hand. "I'm Anita."

"Fiona." I said quietly. I wasn't very comfortable around people, especially ones that just made me think I was in trouble.

"You don't talk much do you kid?" Anita said with a smirk. I shook my head, and she laughed. "Come on kid we are all friends here."

I couldn't call this girl a friend, not only had she jokingly demanded that I get out of her seat but I couldn't help but feel awkward around someone who was proclaiming their awkwardness on their shirt. And, as if things couldn't get any worse, Mouth walked up to us and sat down on the table top.

"Hey Fiona, you gonna introduce me to your awkward friend?" He asked. Anita didn't seem to be offended by being called awkward, in fact she was beaming.

"Do you have any talents Fiona?" Anita asked me, she was smiling as if I were about to burst out into song. But no, I am not Rachel Berry, and this is not Glee. But I did have a talent, and maybe if I showed it to Anita then she would leave me alone.

"Get me a plastic cup." I told her. She giggled like a valley girl and skipped off to find a cup.

"What are you going to-" Mouth began to say but I gave him a look and he shut up.

Anita returned a moment later with a plastic cup. She stood over me smiling, anticipating what I was about to do. I turned the cup upside down so that the open side faced down. I then started a quick rhythm, I clapped twice, tapped the cup three times, clapped again, I had a good rhythm going, but Anita just looked bored and grabbed the cup just before I slapped my hand down on it again.

"I meant a talent that is going to help you in life." Anita said sternly, her sarcastic sweetness melting away. I had no idea if she was acting again or if she was just a bitch. Most likely a bitch.

"That's enough Anita." I heard Ralph's voice behind me. Anita gave him a stern look and walked away. "Sorry about her, she thinks she's going to be the next Idina Menzel, she has a better chance of being the next Pamela Anderson with that hair, ya know what I mean?"

Mouth laughed, I didn't. It's not my fault that I preferred watching _To Kill a Mockingbird _instead of _Baywatch_. To Kill a Mockingbird was a wonderful movie and a wonderful book, in fact it was favourite book. I find it funny that Christina bears the same last name as the main character, Scout Finch, and that she has a widowed father. If she took off the makeup, put on some boys clothing, and moved to Alabama then she would become Scout herself. She has never read the book, not even in class, it's not that she hates reading she just doesn't read books that are longer then one hundred pages. Okay maybe she hates reading a little…

"Do you sing?" Ralph asked me.

"No way Jose." I immediately said, shaking my head quickly.

"That's alright," Ralph said kindly. He slowly grabbed me by my forearm and brought me over to a lone chair in front of the stage, Mouth followed curiously. "Just sit here and tell me what you think of our acapella group."

"Aca-what?" Was all I could say before he hopped onto the stage.

"Acapella," A voice said. I turned and saw Moxie standing behind me. "It's a group that sings songs by imitating the sound of instruments with their voices. They are really popular now with _Pitch Perfect_ and all."

Pitch Perfect? Moxie will never learn, nor care, that I don't keep up with these trends that she talks about. Half the time I never understood what she was saying, who are Elena, Damon, and Stephan and why is their dramatic life so important to her? She is so weird.

"Their starting." Moxie squealed and her voice squeaked.

It was at that moment that the small group of teens on stage erupted into a melody of various sounds strung together into a song. I didn't immediately recognize the song until a girl dressed like Marilyn Monroe, complete with a blonde bob, started singing _Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend_. The way they all seemed to move in harmony and have so many tones and ranges to their voices amazed me. They looked as though they had practiced for a very long time. Suddenly the notes and melody switched and a different girl began singing _Material Girl_. It was all in unison and it was all so perfect. It almost made me wish I had learned how to sing, instead I'm stuck with the vocal cords of a tone-deaf whale. It's a good thing that I never looked at singing as a career like Moxie did, as much as I hope that she will make it big I also hope she wont make it too big. Maybe she could become one of those less famous singers, like Kimberly Perry who is famous but not as famous as Taylor Swift. Plus when you're a less famous singer you are in the spotlight less often, sure you are still gossiped about but less often and it doesn't hurt as much. My thoughts are interrupted by Moxie and Mouth clapping for the accapellas, I didn't even realize that the song had ended. I quickly joined them in applause.

"Wasn't he amazing?" Moxie sighed dreamily. She then realized what she said and her whole face turned bright red, her skin was so fair that blush on her looked like someone had smeared red paint on a white porcelain doll.

"You mean weren't _they_ amazing?" I asked, crossing my arms and wearing a smug smile.

"Yeah…" She said awkwardly, her face still red as a tomato. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

-Gunther-

I heard the sound of my best friend sighing in admiration of Ralph. I shouldn't have been as envious as I was of this action, she should be allowed to crush on whoever she wants. She has been single since we were fifteen, when she had a brief infatuation with Jason Wilcox. I was there when the two broke up at the coffee shop, Moxie and I were there with Kendall and Kick. She started crying when she saw Jason holding hands with Marcy Daniels, a popular senior at our school. When Marcy turned and saw Moxie she just smirked and kissed Jason, Moxie ran out and Kendall followed. Kick and I stormed toward Jason and shoved him into a wall.

"You think you can treat her like this?" I exclaimed angrily. Kick and I gladly showed him what happened when someone mistreated one of our best friends.

Moxie had a few crushes since then, even a date or two, but she never had a real relationship after that. I guess it was because after being hurt so many times she started building a wall of caution around her heart. It broke my heart every time she called me in the middle of the night crying about some boy who wronged her. The first time was when we were twelve, she lived in Memphis then, and her first boyfriend left her for her best friend. I can still hear her sobbing over the phone, telling me what happened, and how she regretted wasting her first kiss on a jerk. I just hoped that if she wanted to go on a date with Ralph that he would treat her with the respect that all women deserve.

After a few hours in the community center we got back in Ralph's car and started driving home. We drove slowly through the town, so slowly that an elderly man in a wheelchair lapped us. Fiona read her book in silence, while Mouth was having a conversation with Moxie and Ralph about some movie I've never heard of, Christina lay her head on Ronaldo's shoulder and closed her eyes. Jackie was beside me with her head out the window, her long brown locks dancing lazily in the breeze.

"I missed this place." She whispered breathlessly.

"It must have been nice coming here as a kid." I said with a smile. I hadn't talked to Jackie much since we had a brief affair when we were younger. I don't even know if she liked me for me, I always thought that it was just because I was acting like Kick.

"It was," She said with a hint of sadness. "I really wish Rachael were here, she would have wanted to meet you guys."

I gave her a sympathetic smile and rubbed her back slowly.

"It's okay," I told her calmly. "She's smiling now because you're here."

Jackie turned her head to face me and smiled. "I sometimes imagine her with wings and a halo, telling me that I shouldn't be afraid to live my life."

"That's because you shouldn't." I told her, she grinned and a blush crossed her cheeks.

"Home sweet home." Ralph said as we pulled into the driveway of his house. I could see Ralph's father, Robert, inspecting the damage on our tires, he waved to us as Ralph parked the car and opened the car door.

"I have good news," Robert said as Ralph approached him, with Moxie and I following close behind. "My friend Matt the mechanic said that he could get new tires and put them on for free."

"That's great," Moxie said with a smile. But I could tell that she was waiting for a catch.

"The only problem is that he can't come and do the job until tomorrow," Robert explained. "You guys can stay the night here, I already talked to Jennifer, and Kick, and Kendall. The guys can sleep in the guest room and the girls in my daughter's old room."

It was so nice of him to offer to do that for us, since we're practically strangers.

"You really don't have to do that for us." Fiona said from behind us.

"Yeah, we could just pay for rooms at a motel." Mouth added.

"I don't want you to waste your money on hotel rooms," Robert told us, then he stifled a laugh. "Plus I think your friend is already comfortable."

"What?" We all said in confusion, and with a smirk Robert pointed to something behind us. We all turned and saw Ronaldo, carrying a sleeping Christina bridal style in his arms. He stopped short when e saw us staring.

"What are you doing with my sister?" Mouth said fiercely.

"I wasn't just going to leave her in the car and I didn't want to wake her." Ronaldo replied timidly, his face turning red.

"I'll take her." Mouth said with venom in his voice. He was obviously mad about Ronaldo and Christina's feelings toward each other. I had never seen a brother so protective over his sister. Mouth carefully took Christina into his arms, her head slowly bopping as Mouth walked towards the door, Moxie held it open so that he could go inside.

"Rachael's room is upstairs at the end of the hall." Jackie told Mouth, who nodded and hiked up the stairs.

I found Kick and Kendall sitting on the couch with Jennifer, they were flipping through an old scrapbook and watching _Jaws_ on the twenty-four hour movie channel while eating freshly baked cookies. Kick had what looked like nylon tights tied around his head underneath his helmet. Kendall looked up and smiled at me.

"Hey, you guys are back." She said happily.

"Yeah," I said. I walked over to the couch and sat next to Kick. "Are you wearing nylons?"

Kick touched the top of his helmet embarrassingly and untied the tights from his head. He turned bright red and looked down and almost timidly whispered, "It's good for headaches."

**Avery: I achieved my goal of finishing this before midnight, on a school night… Yawn… *falls asleep at computer***


	9. New York I Love You

New York, I Love You

**Avery: My beautiful friends! I have returned to you with this chapter that I hope you like because I worked really hard on it. Enjoy!**

Jackie and Ralph's Play list #1

"Lets Sing Our Way Out of This" or "An Introduction To Musical Theatre" or "Real Men Sing Show Tunes"

Darryl Is A Boy (and he lives in my closet)

A Perfect Relationship from Bells Are Ringing

Kristen The Stalker Chick

Grease Lightning from Grease

I Wanna Rock from Rock Of Ages

On My Own from Les Miserables

If My Friends Could See Me Now from Sweet Charity

Freak Flag from Shrek The Musical

You Gotta Get A Gimmick from Gypsy

Downtown (Skid Row) from Little Shop Of Horrors

Time Of My Life from Dirty Dancing

Telephone Hour from Bye Bye Birdie

Jackie and Ralph's side notes: New York is known for two things; Broadway and the 600th floor of the empire state building

Fiona's side notes: Oh I get it! Ha that's funny!

-Christina-

My eyes felt heavy and my vision was blurry, I just wanted to close my eyes and drift back into my dreams. This was possibly the most restful sleep that I had had in years, a digital clock on the bedside table said that I had been asleep for two hours, my new personal best. I sat up, pushed the blanket off of me, and wiped the sleep out of my eyes.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty, did you have a good nap?" I heard Ronaldo's voice, he was standing in the doorway smiling at me. It was the same smile that made me melt, the one I fell in love with every time I saw it.

"I did," I replied, sitting up and smiling at him. We hadn't talked about our kiss at all and I just wanted to know if he enjoyed it as much as I did. "So…"

He walked over to the bed and sat down, we were so close that our knees were touching, it was a simple gesture but it gave me butterflies. We didn't say anything for a while, we just sat together on the bed staring at each other and smiling stupidly. The silence felt awkward and seemed to drag on and on, but we didn't care, we were just enjoying each other's company. As we stared at each other I could have sworn that I heard Ronaldo mumble something under his breath.

"What was that?" I asked curiously. His eyes widened, he smiled shyly, and his face became red with embarrassment. I slowly moved closer to him. "Tell me." I pleaded.

Ronaldo blushed and looked down. "I said your beautiful."

The way he said it made me want to hold him, and hug him, and kiss him. But I couldn't, I knew I'd go a little too far, and what if Mouth walked in on us again? My brother was already protective of me, he would never let me date Ronaldo. Actually he'd probably kill Ronaldo before I even got a chance, if there was any. Many people had told me that I was beautiful, my friends, family, the people at the makeup counter, but it felt like just a compliment that you'd give to an insecure girl. He was different, when he called me beautiful my heart flipped and fluttered like there was a pterodactyl in my chest.

"You think so?" I said in a hushed voice. He turned to me and took my hand, now it was my turn to blush.

"I know so," Ronaldo replied, his face full of new-found confidence. "Sure I thought Kendall was lovely, but you have always been so beautiful."

I could tell that he was about to lean in and kiss me, I wanted it badly. As he started leaning in I was immersed in the scent of his cologne, but it almost didn't feel right. I couldn't go behind my own brother's back like this, could I? I turned my head and Ronaldo slowly pulled away.

"Are you alright?" He asked me, his voice sounded concerned.

"I'm fine," I replied, really regretting not letting him kiss me. "It's just Mouth, you know how protective he is over me, if we started dating he would freak out."

"Then we don't need to tell him," Ronaldo said confidently. Where was he getting all of this confidence? It was sexy. "We don't need to tell anybody."

"You want me to keep this from my friends and my brother?" My voice felt lost, it was almost a whisper. Sensing my uncertainty and discouragement he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"I've had feelings for you for a really long time, and I know that you wouldn't have kissed me if you didn't have feelings for me too." His words were kind and sensitive. My smile grew wider with every syllable that came out of his mouth. "I want to be with you, but I understand if it isn't of your nature to keep this a secret from your friends and brother."

Before I could think about what I was doing I kissed him. I think that he was caught off guard for a moment, but then I felt him kissing me back. His lips were chapped but still sweet, he put his arms around my waist to pull me closer, and I ran my fingers through his tousled blond hair. My body felt all hot and tingly, like my heart was about to pop. My head started spinning and I felt as if I were floating away on cloud nine. I wanted this moment to last forever. It was so perfect and magical that I almost didn't care if my brother walked in on us again, almost. He pulled away and smiled, there was a pregnant pause where neither of us said anything, then I spoke.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt anyone to keep us a secret." I said breathlessly.

He smiled and leaned in to kiss me again.

-Kendall-

()()()

From: Emberthecoolandsexy

To: Kendallperky

Subject: Vanilla Pies

Hi Barbie,

Have you eatin vanilla pies yet? I wann a vanilla pie. Why are you not baking vanilla pies? Uh-oh I just puked in the vanilla pie. And now the pigs are flying away, bye piggy! Oh my gosh I want my piggy back and oh my god Becky look at her butt its so big!

Sent from my iPhone

From: Kendallperky

To: Emberthecoolandsexy

Subject: What?

What?

From: Emberthecoolandsexy

To: Kendallperky

Subject: Sorry

Sorry Kendall I got totally shitfaced last night and then I emailed you while I was drunk. I dunno what the hell a vanilla pie is but looking back it was funny. So now I have a very bad hangover and my head kills like a bitch! And the BF is doin nothing but reading those stupid Playboy themed magazines about female lumberjacks. But he's a good kisser so it's all good. LMFAO! You know you should try havin a lil fun once in a while ur too uptight.

K I'll TTYL Beeyotch luv ya! ;)

()()()

I closed my laptop, I placed it next to me on the couch and propped me feet up on the coffee table. I rolled my eyes thinking about Ember's email. Of course she was drunk because that's all she ever did, got to parties, drink, and get drunk. I'm surprised that she even graduated high school, even more surprised that she got into college. Sure when Brad Buttowski got accepted into college it blew everyone's mind, but when Ember got into college it blew my mind. My sister hadn't lifted a finger her four years of high school, in fact it was I that read _1984 _and explained every detail to her, and I wrote her comparative essay on _Lord of the Flies _and _Macbeth_. I was there for her for four years and how she chooses to thank me is to move across the country and make me drive three thousand miles to pick her up because she can't afford to fly home. I doubt that she even cares if I make it at all, she just wants to stay in Seattle with her boyfriend, the least that girl could do is tell me his name, we're sisters for crying out loud. She was one of the few people who knew about my relationship with Ronaldo, and she was the first person I told about our break up. The least she could do was tell me his name, so far all I know about him is that he reads Playboy themed magazines about female lumberjacks, how many boys read those? I bet that Brad Buttowski still has a stash in his room somewhere.

"Kendall, we called you eight times it's time for dinner," Moxie called from the kitchen, when I didn't respond she walked into the living room and sat next to me on the couch. She stared at the T.V. screen, even though I had stopped paying attention long ago. "Your watching _The Godfather_?"

"Hmm?" I jolted my head up as if just waking up from a dream. I stared at Moxie, who noticed that I was distant and distracted.

"Are you okay Kendall?" She asked, I could see how concerned she was by the look on her face. She eyed my laptop and I handed it to her, I didn't care if she read those emails, it wasn't a private matter to me. She opened Ember's emails and read them, I could hear her laugh.

"Vanilla pies!" She laughed, I'm glad she found Ember's drunk email humorous. When she was finished she closed the laptop and turned to me. "Your sister is right you know."

"I should bake a vanilla pie?" I asked, confused about what she meant.

"No, that your uptight," Moxie explained. "I love you when I say this, but you are way too focused on school, it's summer vacation and no one should be thinking about school."

"Gee, I love you too," I said sarcastically. "I'm not always thinking about school you know."

"Right your thinking about that little daredevil you got the hots for." She replied with a sly grin, she fake sighed and hugged one of the throw pillows.

"Shut up!" I yelled, grabbing another throw pillow and hitting her in the face, to which she laughed and hit me back with the throw pillow in her hands.

"But seriously, you need to be a bit more loose and confident," She said proudly. "and that starts with what you're wearing."

I looked down at the sweatpants and sweatshirt that I had worn. They were her clothes, since Jackie took my suitcase out of our trunk when she stowed away and left me with no clothes. When I looked in Moxie's suitcase I knew exactly what I was going to wear, clothes that didn't show off my body. However it was a bad choice to wear sweaters and sweatpants in the summer, since it was hot and there were times where I felt like passing out from a heat stroke. I could never pull off Moxie's style, which was a combination of a bold British rock star and a sexy supermodel.

"Your style is a little too flashy for me." I said timidly. She smirked and sighed heavily.

"Wait here." Moxie told me, she ran out of the room and came back with a pair of black shorts and a purple halter top with a ruche bodice. "Go to the bathroom and put this on." She instructed.

I did as she said and when I looked at myself in the full length mirror I felt better, I felt really pretty. I kind of liked how purple made my eyes pop, and I liked that the shorts were not too short. I looked at the sweater and the sweatpants that had been discarded on the floor, and I realized something, maybe I didn't feel pretty before because I was hiding in those sweats. I opened the door to see Moxie standing outside the door waiting for me, she looked me up and down, and then she smiled.

"You look amazing!" She exclaimed. "Come on, let's go eat."

We sat down at the kitchen table, I sat next to Kick and she sat across the table from me. I could see Kick staring at me and I started feeling somewhat insecure again, did he think I looked bad? But he was smiling, why would he smile if he thought that I looked horrible?

"Kendall," He whispered. I turned to him, giving my undivided attention. "You look nice."

**Avery: Just so you know Ember is supposed to have bad grammar so for all you grammar Nazis out there please don't throw your dictionaries at me and don't be a hater! I hope you all enjoyed! I love all of you beauties! :)**


	10. Music in Manhatten

Music In Manhattan

**Avery: Title reference; it's a movie made in the forties. Enjoy my friends!**

-Moxie-

"Come on Kendall, just let me tease your hair." I pleaded. It was after midnight and none of us could sleep. Christina was sitting on the bed painting Jackie's nails while Fiona was sitting on the ground in the splits, I don't know how she does that without breaking her entire lower body.

"No, I don't want my hair teased, or curled, or whatever." She retorted, for someone who looked so pulled together and sophisticated she was acting quite crabby.

"Come on, remember what Ember said?" I told her, her face turned as white as a ghost.

"What did Ember say?" Jackie asked, prompting Fiona and Christina to look up from what they were doing.

"That she was uptight." I replied, Kendall shot me a look.

"Ooh, harsh." Christina said semi-sarcastically, she smiled coyly and rolled her eyes.

"It hurt." Kendall snapped, throwing a pillow at Christina, but she missed and the pillow hit the tiny bottle of nail polish remover, which spilt all over the comforter.

"Shit, my aunt is gonna kill me!" Jackie exclaimed in a panic.

"That stuff stinks, I'm opening a window." Fiona said, waving a hand in front of her face. She did what looked like a back walkover out of her splits and walked over to the window.

"Quit showing off," I told her with a laugh. "How do you even do that?"

"Years of aerobics training." She replied with a roll of her eyes, a cool breeze entered the room and drowned out the stench of nail polish remover.

"You have to go for cheerleading next year," I begged. "We need someone like you that can do flips and stuff."

"I tell you this every year," She complained, rolling her eyes again and sitting on the window ledge. "The answer is still no."

She then swung her legs around onto the rooftop and climbed out the window, she did this when she wanted to be alone. She would lie on the roof and just stare at the sky as if it would tell her the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. Even though she claims that she knows the answer, forty-two… I really don't get her sometimes. I turned on the small, old, television just in time to watch the last ten minutes of a _The Carrie Diaries_ rerun. The show took place in the eighties, and I was absolutely fascinated with the eighties. I found the hair to be outrageous and the clothes were outlandish, if I lived in the eighties then I'd probably be the biggest trendsetter in America.

"Curl it." Kendall demanded. She sat in front of me, cross-legged on the floor.

"You sure?" I asked, she really didn't need to let me curl her hair, I could just curl Christina's or Jackie's. When Kendall didn't reply I just sighed and began teasing and curling her hair in big fat curls.

About half an hour later Kendall's hair was all curled and I had managed to get her to let me do her makeup. That's when I heard a weird noise coming from the hallway._ Creek. Creek. _I could tell that the other girls had heard it too, they were all staring at the door with a look of pure terror on their faces. It was the fear you got when you were lying alone in your room at night and thought you saw shadows creeping across the walls. Fear was a natural thing, and in my mind I knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, old houses creek all the time.

"You don't think that's, you know who?" Christina asked, her voice shaking.

"Who? Slender?" I asked jokingly. "Then we'd better go put on our bikinis and check it out."

Kendall laughed, Christina and Jackie didn't.

"What if it is Slender?" Jackie asked, she looked close to tears.

"There's no such thing." Kendall said logically, knowing that we'd be fine.

"What if it's a ghost?" I said sarcastically, dramatically fainting onto the bed. Kendall and I laughed, no one else did.

"What if it's Rachael's ghost?" Jackie gasped, she looked sad.

I felt really sorry for her, no one deserves to lose a family member the way that she lost Rachael. If someone killed one of my brothers I don't know what I would do, how I'd go on. I can only imagine how Jackie felt when she lost her cousin, I've never lost anyone, I've never seen a coffin, I've never been to a funeral. Although I feel like maybe taking Jackie here was a good thing, maybe this tiny gesture of bringing her here helped Jackie keep Rachael alive.

"What's going on?" I heard Fiona's voice say as she climbed into the house from the rooftop.

"There's a ghost in the hallway." Jackie said, sounding frightend.

Fiona stared at her with one eyebrow raised, by the look on her face I could tell that Fiona thought that Jackie was pulling her leg. Fiona rolled her light green eyes and walked towards the door, she opened it up and walked into the hallway. She came back a moment later and, standing behind her, was Gunther.

-Gunther-

I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom when I heard a noise coming from the girl's room. I could see that there was light coming from under the door. Out of curiosity I stood by the door and tried to listen in on what they were doing. I didn't know what girls did at a sleepover, since I never had a sister to tell me. I always just assumed that it was like in the movies, they had pillow fights, watched _Sleepover_ the movie, and talked about boys. When I heard steps approaching the door I ran down the hallway as silently as I could and hid in the bathroom. But a moment later Fiona found me.

"What are you doing?" She asked, with her hands on her hips.

"Going to the bathroom?" I said, but it came out more like a question then a statement. Fiona shook her head and turned around beckoning me to follow her. We entered the girl's room and I saw that they were all giving each other makeovers, and for reasons unknown to me Jackie and Christina looked relieved.

"Look at who was spying on us." Fiona said with a coy smile.

"Gunther!" Christina yelled with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Not cool."

Kendall and Moxie were dying of laughter, prompting Jackie and Christina to become red with embarrassment. Kendall looked like Sandy and the end of _Grease_, you know when their at the carnival, and she's all hot looking, and then she and Danny fly away in the car. Moxie's hair was straitened, her hair was usually in perfect curls, and she was wearing a tee-shirt that she made for an art project. It was yellow and the entire thing was a sheer material, except for just enough fabric to cover her chest.

Moxie had always believed that fashion was about self-expression, not about looking cool or hot. I never thought much about what I wore, usually I just threw on whatever was comfortable. Moxie always said I should think about my personal style just a little more, she said that people would see me as a more outstanding and confident person. I don't think that clothes have the same effect on me as they did on Moxie, however she _was_ a girl and girls love clothes and shoes, I don't know why. When we were younger Moxie went through a huge fashion design phase, she was obsessed with becoming a clothing designer. She even made her own clothes, they were unique and vibrant, they made her look like a girl who was worthy of bearing the name Moxie. I remember when Moxie and I were at her house, about to go to our first high school party. She had even made her own dress, it was a short black dress with a sweetheart neckline and a round skirt, there was a large V-shaped cut down the back that stopped at her mid-back. She looked sexy, or at least as sexy as a fifteen year old girl could be. Her raven hair was long and fashioned into beautiful beachy waves.

"So?" Moxie asked, twirling in her new dress. "What do you think?"

I was awestruck, she was absolutely gorgeous. She made me feel like I was under dressed in baggy jeans and a grey tee-shirt. I could barely speak, I just stared at her like I was an idiot, I felt really stupid. I had had a crush on her for years, she was my best friend, and now my own best friend was out of my league. I wondered if any of the older boys would try to get with her, she's a girl and she's very attractive, very easy to manipulate. All I know is that if they try to hurt her I'll hurt them.

"Gunther? Are you going to say something or just keep staring at me?" Moxie asked, she gave me a look and tilted her head, then a small smile appeared on her face. "I feel beautiful."

I was glad that she felt beautiful, but she should know that she's beautiful all the time. She has beautiful soft hair that was like silk growing out of her head, and her eyes were the most amazing colour that I had ever seen. She was zany and unique, she was authentic, one of a kind and I hoped that nothing would ever diminish that.

"Your always beautiful." I told her, she smiled at me.

"Thanks Gunther," She said smiling, she gave me a hug, which I happily returned. "Now let's go to that party."

()()()

I woke up the next morning to laughter, I sat up in bed and saw Kick, Mouth, and Ronaldo standing over me in their pajamas. I gave them a confused look but they wouldn't stop laughing, Mouth even fell over because he was laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" I asked them blankly.

"Have you looked in a mirror this morning?" Ronaldo asked as he caught his breath.

I pushed the duvet off of me and stood up, there was no mirror in the room so I had to walk to the bathroom. I knocked on the bathroom door, and Ralph emerged from the bathroom, he did a double take when he saw me.

"Um, What happened to your face?" He asked, I got a little offended and shoved him out of the way. First he tries to steal my girl and now he's making fun of my face.

When I looked in the mirror I saw that I had red lipstick, black eyeliner, and blue eye shadow on. One of the girls must have snuck into my room while I was asleep and put makeup on me, and I had a pretty good idea of who it was.

"Mariana-Roxie Donovan your dead!" I screamed lividly.

I pushed open the door to the girl's room and saw Moxie sitting on the bed laughing her head off, Kendall sat next to he and gave her a high-five. Fiona was stretching in the far corner of the room, when she saw me she gasped.

"You did not!" She exclaimed, laughing so hard she had to wipe a tear from her eyes.

I stepped forward, but tripped over a sleeping bag, which Jackie was sleeping in. She woke up with a start, but when she saw my face she joined the group in laughter. I rolled my eyes, I will get you back Moxie, I will.

()()()

Moxie's Play list # 5

"Guys and Dolls" or "Guys that play with dolls"

On Holiday by Green Day

Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Back in Black by AC/DC

Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne

"A" Bomb in Wardour Street by The Jam

Frontline by Pillar

All These Things That I've Done by The Killers

The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

Hurt Me Tomorrow by K'naan

Perfect by Hedley

Bandages by Hot Hot Heat

Moxie's side notes: Finally going on the road again, we leave in three hours. I never thought that I'd say this but I'm actually gonna miss Jackie…

**Avery: Thank you to my little brother who helped me with this play list, because God knows how bad my taste in music is… Haha! Review my wonderful friends! : )**


	11. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

**Avery: Hello friends you are looking beautiful today (: how is your life going? What? You don't want to tell me you just want to read the chapter? Fair enough, go ahead its right there:**

-Moxie-

I sat on the hood of the car with my head back, letting the sun kiss my face. I took my large circular sunglasses out of my purse and placed them on top of my head. I couldn't wait to be back on the road again, although I would definitely miss Ralph. Ralph was the type of person who was never afraid to be himself, never rude or boastful, and most importantly he never stopped smiling. I liked that smile, it was bright and joyful, it made me want to smile, even if I was having the worst day of my life. I could see him through the kitchen window, he was talking to his mom about something, they looked like they were fighting about something. I could also see a package on the table, it was not that big but it probably had something important inside. As Kick and Gunther hauled the last of our luggage into the car Ralph picked the package up off the table and came outside.

"We're ready to go." I heard Kick say as the trunk slammed closed.

"Finally." Fiona exclaimed, from where she sat on the driveway.

"Remember to check for a certain stowaway." Christina joked, she and Ronaldo were sitting on the grass whispering about something. I knew that something was going on between those two.

"Hey," Ralph said to me, leaning against the hood of the car, the package still in his lap. "Can you do me a favour?"

"Anything." I told him with an eager smile.

"Can you bring this package to my friend in Memphis?" He asked, handing me the package.

"Memphis?" I said is disbelief, he nodded. "You want me to somehow convince my friends to go to Memphis just to give someone a package? Why can't you just mail it to them?"

"Because its expensive and it takes too long, plus she's a runner and might not even be in Memphis by the time the package arrives." He explained.

"She?" I asked, slightly in disappointment.

"Louise," He replied "She used to be my girlfriend, but than she ran away and left only a note, telling me that she was leaving to pursue her dream of being a dancer and that she was sorry. Every time we talk she's in another state, we send eachother stuff but this was a personal request."

"And the last time you talked she was in Memphis?" I asked, he nodded again. "So she might not even be in Memphis when we get there?" I was trying not to explode and start yelling at him for being so stupid.

"If she's not there go to the Summerville theatre in Memphis and ask for Tessa Bronwyn, she'll know where to find Louise." He said nonchalantly, I wanted to smack him.

I slumped my shoulders, trying to process the words that he was saying. I was confused, he wanted me to bring a package to some dancer girl named Louise who may or may not be in Memphis? Was he insane? And what am I supposed to do if she's not there? What if Tessa Bronwyn doesn't know where Louise is? This is sounding more and more like a wild goose chase to me.

"So you want me to just drop everything and find your ex girlfriend and give her a package?" I asked in disbelief. What did I see in this boy? Was he just buttering me up like toast so that I would say yes without a second thought? Was this his big scheme? Well no, I refuse, it's not my fault that he's too cheap to send the package.

"Please Moxie help me," He begged, that cute and innocent look forming in his big blue eyes, but all I saw was a wall of deceit and lies.

"What's going on?" Gunther asked as he approached Ralph and I.

I couldn't wait to tell Gunther this, he would laugh and punch Ralph in his stupid dumb blonde face.

"Ralph was just telling me that he wanted us to drive to Memphis and give his ex girlfriend a package." I explained.

I could see Gunther's eyes widen for a brief moment then return to normal. After a short pause he turned to Kick, who was leaning against the car talking to Kendall.

"Thelma, Louise, time for a road trip," He declared. I was glad he said that, meaning we could leave, I sighed in relief. "We are going to Memphis." Wait what did he just say?

"What?" Kick and Kendall yelled simultaneously.

"We are delivering a package to Ralph's friend." He explained.

He wanted to do this? He wanted to drive to Memphis for a girl who might not even be there? Why did he even want to help Ralph? By the looks of the last few days he seemed to hate Ralph. Boys really just don't make any sense to me.

"Gunther why on earth would we go all the way to Memphis to deliver a stupid package?" Kick exclaimed, he was infuriated. He wasn't going to let Gunther have his way, we were not going to Memphis. That is when Jackie came outside and wiggled her way into our conversation.

"What's going on?" She asked, in her nosy and curious way.

"Ralph wants us to go to Memphis," I explained bitterly. "Deliver a package to Louise."

"Louise?" She looked confused and turned to look at Ralph. I'm guessing she had no idea that her cousin ever had a girlfriend.

"Ex-Girlfriend." He explained, he looked away from her, probably guilty that he never told her.

Jackie's eyes widened for a moment, I could tell that she was slightly hurt by not knowing these things. She probably wished that she and Ralph had a better friendship, or that they could be closer as cousins. It can be hard sometimes, I wish I still talked to certain people who I had known years ago. My mind flashes back to the people I've met in my life, people on vacations, people in the towns and cities I moved in and out of as a kid.

"Maybe you guys should go to Memphis." Jackie whispered, was she insane? Wait, don't answer that.

"Why?" Kick said as if she were an idiot, deserving a hard elbow in the chest courtesy of Kendall. He could have said that nicer.

"It's just that Ralph let you guys stay here and it was nice of him," Jackie said defensively. "It's the least you could do to repay him."

Was she blackmailing us? If it wasn't for her we would be in Seattle by now helping Ember and Brad pack up their stuff, we could be driving home right now. What has Jackie given us? A detour and a flat tire, and now she's giving us another detour? Was this her plan all along? Keep us from ever getting to Seattle. Well we will get to Seattle, one way or another.

"We'll do it." Kick said confidently. What is he doing? Did he take crazy pills this morning?

"But Kick-" Kendall started to say, but Kick gave her a look that made her stop in the middle of her sentance. It was a look that said "trust me" and no matter how many times they fought and quarrelled they trusted each other.

"I'm Kick Buttowski, and Kick Buttowski always returns a favour." Kick confidently proclaimed, a large smile crossed his face.

"And Kick Buttowski always talks in the third person." Christina mocked, causing Mouth, Fiona, and Ronaldo to laugh.

"Guys, we're going to Memphis." Gunther said excitedly as we got in the car, giving one last goodbye to Jackie and Ralph. I groaned, this is going to be a long detour.

()()()

I drew an invisible line with my finger across the map that Kendall picked up at Cracker Barrel. Tracing the borderline of New York and slowly descending through Pennsylvania, then West Virginia, past Kentucky, my finger then found Memphis and lay there. Our destination, where we would find a girl who wanted so badly to be a dancer that she ran away from her boyfriend, her home, and her life. I imagine her tall and thin, dancers are always so thin, with good posture, also a dancer trait. She is probably a blonde, perhaps not even a natural blonde, but I'm sure she always has her hair in a sock bun at the top of her head. Elegant and proper, like a beautiful ballerina. But her feet are probably disgusting, all dancers have blistered gross feet. What am I doing? I spent the last two days crushing on some guy and now I'm obsessing over his ex-girlfriend's feet.

What are we supposed to do if she's not there? I guess we will cross that bridge when it comes. I delicately folded the map back up and stuffed it in Kendall's bag.

()()()

Moxie's Play list #6

"Memphis is a f***ing long drive" or "What the first one said"

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If I Had You by Adam Lambert

We Used to Wait by Arcade Fire

Memphis Tennessee by Elvis Presley

Nantes by Beirut

Everything Goes My Way by Metronomy

The Garden by Mirah

All That You Are by Ecoline Crush

Set Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol

Gimme Sympathy by Metric

Moxie's side notes: Why do I have the oddest feeling that this is my karma for that joke I played on Gunther?

**Avery: Before you ask no I did not choose the name Louise cuz of Thelma and Louise I chose it because of a different pop culture reference which you may or may not understand in due time. (picks up dogs) So make sure you review our story we put up new chapters every- whenever I finish them.**

**Say goodbye Spiderman! Yeah there's no Spiderman… Lol I'm no Jenna Marbles…**


	12. Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine

**Avery: Hello friends (: Guess who got the flu. Yeah, I did ): So I decided to make myself feel better by eating some popcorn and watching a marathon of The Big Bang Theory. And now I'm writing this chapter, so I hope that you like it!**

-Christina-

I've been awake for exactly twenty-eight hours, my eyes are bloodshot and feel heavy but when I close them they refuse to rest. Its like there's a drum banging in my body, keeping me up at night. If that wasn't bad enough my brother was asleep on my left shoulder, and I had Moxie asleep on my right shoulder, it was a rather uncomfortable position, especially with the noxious smell of Mouth overusing Axe and Moxie's nail polish remover which I accidentally spilled while trying to fix the French manicure I attempted. Kick and Kendall were pretty pissed off about that. Kick, Kendall, and I were the only ones that hadn't fallen asleep. While everyone else dozed off we were still conscious, well Kick and Kendall were barely conscious, I could tell that they both just wanted to sleep. But we haven't seen a hotel for three hours. Then I had an idea.

"Park at Wal-Mart." I said, Kick and Kendall both looked at me like I was insane.

"Why?" Kick asked, he looked about ready to pass out, there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Wal-Mart lets you sleep in their parking lot," I explained, my fatigue beginning to take over. "We used to sleep in Wal-Mart parking lots when my dad was too cheap for hotel rooms, they don't mind."

"Wal-Mart actually lets you sleep in their parking lot?" Kendall asked in disbelief, I nodded.

She shrugged and turned into the first Wal-Mart she saw, obviously she was too tired to argue. She turned off the engine and lay back in her seat, the silence of the night washed over the car, I could hear nothing but the slow and calm breathing of my friends and the crickets outside. I closed my eyes in an attempt to drift away into sleep but every time I tried I found it completely useless. Carefully I unbuckled my seatbelt and skilfully manoeuvred my way around my sleeping friends, and quietly pushed open the door into the calm and cool night. I sat on the hard pavement against a lamppost, the yellow light leaving a glow on my skin. It was well past midnight and the crescent moon was high in the sky along with a vast, star-covered, sky. I always thought that the universe was amazing, how perfect and intricate that it all was, my brothers and dad never understood how I could believe in both a higher power and science at the same time. I looked around the almost empty lot, there was only car, and it was attached to a trailer. I wondered if there was a family inside that trailer, probably sleeping on something much comfier than a car seat, Kendall would be jealous. Maybe they were on a long cross-country road trip like us, maybe their close to their destination, or miles away. That's when I noticed a shadow creep through the parking lot, and I choked my breath to keep from screaming. I was too scared to even move, I couldn't see the face of what, or whoever, it was but I was in the light of a lamppost, I was completely exposed. The shadow creeped closer to me and just thought _This is it, I'm going to die now, tell Ronaldo I love him…_ Then a soft voice spoke out to me.

"Hello," A soft feminine voice whispered. "You can't sleep either?"

The owner of the shadow slowly stepped into the light and I could see that it was clearly a girl, and she was probably thirteen or fourteen years old.

"My names Alessia," The girl whispered as she plopped down beside me, staring at me with her big brown eyes. "What's yours?"

"Christina." I replied flatly.

"That's a pretty name," Alessia said, she talked fast, like a motor mouth. "Were you named after Christina Aguilera? Is she your mom? Can you sing? What are you doing at Wal-Mart after midnight anyways? You must be on a road trip like me. Where are you going? I'm going to Florida with my parents and little sister, she's nine and her name is Sophia-Rose…"

Alessia kept rambling on and on, it was getting to the point where I wasn't even listening anymore. When I was younger I used to sit in the Wal-Mart parking lots after midnight alone while my dad and brothers were asleep. I liked being alone in the parking lot, I just counted stars and daydreamed until I was ready to go back into the car. I'm sure Mouth knew, he somehow always knew these things, I guess it's a twin thing. I know that he would never tell dad, because although dad believes every word that comes out of Mouth's mouth he doesn't have the advantage that I do. I'm the only girl in a family of boys, I'll always be daddy's little princess. That's what little sisters are, the princesses that daddy would do anything for.

"-I think it has something to do with my brain." Alessia's voice shook me from my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, feeling slightly guilty that I hadn't been listening to what she was saying.

"The reason people don't talk to me," Alessia explained, a long frown on her face. "I have autism and that effects my brain, nobody likes me because of it."

Alessia was hugging her knees to her chest, and I slowly put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," I told her reassuringly. "If you want people to like you just be friendly."

"But that doesn't work." She loudly complained, I hushed her so that she knew to be quiet.

"Maybe you try too hard." I whispered kindly. "People respond well to kind gestures, like a smile and sometimes talking too much could be a bad thing too."

"Yeah, I need to work on that," Alessia explained, she smiled sadly. "I just wish that I had a few more friends. Florida is a new chance for me, we're taking this road trip to see our new house, we are moving at the end of the summer."

"Well then, I hope you find friends in Florida." I told her kindly with a smile. I've never lived anywhere outside of Mellowbrook, so I wouldn't understand her situation, but I still understand that moving from one state to another must be tough.

"Are those your friends?" She asked me timidly. "The ones asleep in the car?"

"Yeah, we've been best friends since middle school." I replied with a smile, looking towards the car.

"Which one of those boys do you like?" She teased, giggling quietly.

"The blonde one with glasses," I replied with a smile. "His name is Ronaldo."

Alessia walked up to the car window and put her face to the glass, I wanted to tell her that it was socially inappropriate to stare into people's cars but I think she figured it out on her own when she took a step back.

"He's cute," She said with a smile, I nodded in agreement. "That other blonde boy looks like you, you have the same face, but your nose is smaller."

"That's my brother," I explained, she sat down next to me again and stared at me like she was listening. I could tell her social skills were improving. "My brother doesn't want me to go out with Ronaldo, he really shouldn't worry."

Alessia's smile faded, I could tell she wanted to hear a story about how romantic he was or how cute he looked when he smiled or something like that. "Oh well that's-"

"Alessia!" A man called. If I squinted than I could see the silhouette of a tall Spanish man standing in the door of the trailer.

"That's my dad, I should go." Alessia said as she stood up. She began running towards the trailer, turning back for only a second to wave goodbye. Then she was gone.

()()()

"Christina?" My vision was blurry as I opened my eyes to see Fiona shaking me awake. "I woke up and didn't see you in the car, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied as I sat up, my back was hurting, did I really fall asleep on the pavement? I could tell that Fiona sensed my discomfort.

"Lie on your back and arch forward, like this." She instructed, demonstrating a yoga move. I did as she did, and after a loud crack my back began to feel better.

"Good," She said, sitting cross-legged in front of me. "We should probably get something to eat while we're here, we're driving straight through Pennsylvania today so that we can get to West Virginia by sunset."

"Great," I said sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. "More driving, I swear I'm going to be claustrophobic by the end of this trip."

Fiona smirked and chuckled, then after a short silence between us she asked, "What were you doing out here last night?"

"Talking to the girl in the trailer." I replied.

"What trailer?" She asked, looking around the parking lot.

I pointed to where the trailer had been parked but then realized that it was gone, maybe that girl and her family left early in the morning when I was still sleeping. But I couldn't have been asleep that long, right?

"What time is it?" I asked Fiona, she pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Its ten, we slept in." She explained, standing up and offering me her hand. "Come on Wal-Mart should be open by now, let's get something to eat for breakfast."

()()()

Moxie's Play List #7

"Pennsylvania has a lot of pencils" or "Smellma, Pittsburgh"

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

The Lightning Strike by Snow Patrol

Your Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars

Impossible by Shontelle

Saviour by Lights

Love Rollercoaster by Studio 99

Dead Disco by Metric

The Technicolor Phase by Owl City

Postcards From Italy by Beirut

So What by P!nk

Losing My Religion by R.E.M

Into The Fire by Sarah McLachlan

River Below by Billy Talent

Moxie's side notes: When there's nothing left to burn you've got to set yourself on fire.

**Avery: Kay I feel better now (: I hope you enjoyed I know its short but I tried to make it good. And before you ask yes, it's true Wal-Mart is okay with people sleeping in their parking lot. I dont knw why... Anyway, Review and maybe I'll give you cake.**


	13. Rules Of The Road

Rules Of The Road

-Kick-

The traffic on the interstate was literally bumper to bumper, I even put the car in park because I know we weren't moving any time soon. Apparently there was some major collision up the road and some people had been stuck in that traffic jam for four hours. There were people honking their horns and swearing at each other, as if they were blaming each other for the traffic jam. I guess its reasonable if you have somewhere to be but if you have nowhere to be you shouldn't be screaming at someone else. That's why I'm not rolling down my window to scream at someone for cutting me off.

"Did Ralph say what's in this box?" Kendall asked, the parcel sitting in her lap.

"He mentioned that she's a dancer," Moxie replied with a roll of her eyes. "Maybe its dancing shoes."

Kendall lifted the parcel and shook, the contents banging inside. "There's no way that these are dance shoes."

"Whatever," Moxie replied, she scoffed and rolled her eyes, I could tell that this delivery was bothering her. Little did she know that Gunther had told me why he really wanted to bring this parcel to Memphis.

()()()

"What's the deal with you?" I asked Gunther before we left Walmart. "We are already behind schedule and know you want us to deliver a package to some girl for Ralph? What's your deal?"

"Road trips are supposed to have detours," Gunther replied. "If you just go where other people tell you then you'll never get to do anything exciting, plus what's the fun of a road trip if you don't explore, find the open road. Plus I know what's in that box."

"What is it? How do you know?" I asked.

"I know because I saw Ralph put them in the box the day we left," He replied. I was both shocked and confused when he told me the actual contents of the parcel, then I understood it. "That's why you wanted to take this job? Dude your gross!"

"No!" Gunther exclaimed, giving me a shove. "Because when Moxie finds out she's going to be heartbroken and realize what a sleaze Ralph really is and how all the boys she goes for are exactly like that. Then she'll realize I'm the opposite and want to date me instead."

"Alright," I told him with a smirk and a pat on the back. "All for love."

()()()

It was the early evening before we managed to get off the highway, I couldn't place where we were exactly, and our GPS decided it was the perfect time to be completely useless. All I knew is that we got to West Virginia about an hour ago, and if we drove straight for another three hours, or maybe longer, we'd reach the borderline of Kentucky. Even though I know we will have to stop eventually in Kentucky to eat and sleep I plan to drive straight tomorrow so that we can deliver the parcel to the whore in Memphis and get to Seattle.

"Ugh!" Kendall groaned, slapping the dashboard. She had her laptop sitting on top of the parcel. "Look at this E-mail Ember sent me."

"Cant, need to watch the road." I replied, I could see her rolling her eyes.

As much as I love hearing the drama of Kendall's crazy big sister and her boyfriend, she wont tell us his name, I have my own problems to worry about. Like my mom constantly at my throat, because she thinks its my recklessness and irresponsibility that's keeping us from getting to Seattle. I know that Kendall's mom thinks that her little angel isn't doing anything wrong, why would she? All Kendall does is be perfect. I don't think that Brad minds that we're late, he's too busy going to parties, and getting stoned, and hanging out with some new girlfriend that I don't know the name of.

"You know I don't usually share my personal life with anyone," Kendall snapped. "So the least that you can do is listen."

That's when it hit me. Everything that she's done, the elections for class president, being the chair person of school clubs, being the lead in the play, she wanted people to listen to her. She didn't have many friends until we were twelve, and even then she had a hard time opening up. I've known Kendall since we were in diapers, our moms used to take us to the park for playdates with Gunther. I know because we have all the home movies on VHS tapes. By the time we were four we drifted apart.

I looked over in the backseat, where Moxie and Gunther were sleeping on each other's shoulders. Besides Kendall and I, the only other person awake was Christina, who had dug through Moxie's magazine stash and was staring at the models in the pictures. Ronaldo was leaning on her, his sleeping head bouncing up and down with the bumps in the road, but Christina didn't seem to mind. She looked up at me momentarily and put down the magazine, I turned my attention back to the road.

"It feels good to be on the road again," She said. "Dad hasn't taken us anywhere in years."

She was staring at the rock formations outside, a lot of them had graffiti all over them. There were names, symbols, drawings, and the occasional initials in a heart. She seemed to enjoy it, seeing the world while driving down the interstate. I think we should all be enjoying it more, but Kendall and I have just been focused on getting to Seattle that we haven't been enjoying this little detour we're taking. I guess Christina has the right idea, staring out the window, eyes wide with wanderlust.

"Mouth said that you guys have a cottage in California," Kendall recalled, twisting in her seat to look at Christina. "He mentioned that it was somewhere near Yosemite."

"Yeah, we would drive there every summer, dad said it's the best way to see America." Christina said, without looking back I could hear her smiling.

"So you liked driving across America?" I asked without turning my head away from the interstate.

"Oh no I hated it," Christina laughed. "The long drive with my dad and two brothers, it can get really annoying. But now I'm here with my friends and I don't know which I prefer."

I smiled I was glad that she was having a great time, and even though I'm sure that Kendall wouldn't admit it she's having a great time too. I turn over to look at her when we reach the Kentucky borderline to find her asleep, taking a quick look in the back I discover Christina asleep too. I don't usually see her sleeping, maybe it's harder to fall asleep when you're in a car. I take the first exit that I see off the highway into some small town that I don't know the name of, and circle around looking for a hotel, or perhaps a Walmart, to spend the night. Or at least the five hours until the sun comes up.

()()()

Kick's Play list #2

"Road less travelled" or "Does KFC taste better in Kentucky?"

Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard

Hold on by Alabama Shakes

Superman's Dead by Our Lady Peace

My God is the Sun by Queens Of The Stone Age

It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock n' Roll) by AC/DC

It Ain't Right by One Bad Son

Cowboy by Kid Rock

Fragile Bird by City and Colour

Tighten Up by The Black Keys

Bones by Young Guns

The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Izzy

Kick's Side Notes: Who wants chicken?

**Avery: How many times do I apologize for my absence? Well it was exam week, and then I got into a car accident, and I'm going to camp for two weeks so I don't know when the next update will be but I'll try. I love you guys!**


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